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Join on Telegram Rabat – Moroccan officials are reviewing the practice of preventive detention in relation to human rights and prison overcrowding. Legal experts met in Tetouan on Friday, May 28, to review Morocco’s use of preventive detentions.
Deputy president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, Mohamed Abdennabaoui, described the issue as “the most important concern” to Morocco’s justice system in a speech on behalf of Tetouan Court of Appeal President Mustapha El Ghazal. Abdennabaoui described the practice of preventive detention in Morocco as “exceptional,” yet recognized that the practice conflicts with elements of international human rights conventions.
“Preventive detention” refers to the practice of detaining a suspected criminal on concerns that the pre-trial free movement of the individual in question could be harmful to society. While Abdennabaoui described the practice as rare, he highlighted that it conflicts with the “presumption of innocence” granted to all people under human rights conventions of which Morocco is a signatory.
Abdennabaoui emphasized that preventive detentions can be affected by social pressures and suffers from a lack of information sharing about possible suspects. Furthermore, the gathered experts reviewed whether the practice contributes to overcrowding in Moroccan prisons.
The ongoing judicial review session on preventive detention in Tetouan raised doubts over the link with prison overcrowding, highlighting that only 2% of individuals subject to preventive detentions are later released, with 90% sentenced to prison following their early detention.
Abdennabaoui urged Morocco’s judiciary to promote better internal information sharing in order to better asses suspects’ guilt prior to preventive detention. Improving the exchange of knowledge on suspects would speed up proceedings and ensure suspects do not languish in prison amid ongoing legal investigations.
Morocco’s judiciary has made meaningful progress in reducing the number of preventive detention cases in recent years, the deputy president affirmed in his speech. He urged officials in Morocco’s judiciary to “take all necessary measures” to speedily process such cases in order to build on this progress.
Abdennabaoui concluded that constraints beyond the judiciary still hamper further progress in reducing the number of preventive detention cases in Morocco to percentages in line with international standards. He urged for a tighter definition of preventive detention, speeding up proceedings against suspects and introducing new legislative changes as ways to preserve citizens rights and freedoms.
