Rabat – Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) has said that the number of detainees in Morocco increased by 5% in 2021 compared to last year.
DGAPR Delegate General Mohamed Salah Tamek presented the institution’s draft budget in the presence of the Justice Committee and the Legislation Committee. Between October 2020 and October 2021, the number of detainees increased by 5% in Morocco, Tamek said.
In his presentation, the Delegate General highlighted that the number of detainees decreased between 2019 and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, which decreased the crime rates as well as the Royal Pardon given to several detainees.
As life started to gradually return to normal, the flow of prisoners returned to its normal pace, ranging from 84,990 inmates at the end of December 2020 to 89,711 inmates at the end of October of the current year.
This year’s increase is a “significant challenge” for the DGAPR, Tamek said.
He expressed his satisfaction with the “Moussalaha” (reconciliation) program, describing it as “a model to be followed by other countries.”
Launched in 2017 by the DGAPR in partnership with several organizations, the program aims to facilitate the social and professional reintegration of extremist detainees convicted of terrorism who want to repent.
The reintegration program is often dubbed a “de-radicalization” initiative, and has helped over 207 prisoners to get rid of their extremist ideas.
The program is sponsored by the Arrabita Mohammadia des Oulamas, an organization that promotes a peaceful and tolerant Islam based on the principle of moderation.
Tamek said that the “Moussalaha” program successfully recorded an “absence of recidivism cases,” except for one convict who suffered from psychological disorders.
The reconciliation initiative is overseen by a group of Moroccan academics, religious scholars, and executives specialized in de-radicalization.
The DGAPR General Delegate underlined that the program includes “reconciliation with oneself, with religion, and with its surroundings.”
Morocco suffered from painful terrorism attacks in the past.
In 2003, five bombing attacks took place in Casablanca at the same time, killing 45 people including the 12 bombers who led the suicide attacks.
In 2011, a bomb attack struck the main square of Marrakech, killing 15 people including at least 10 foreigners and injuring 20 others.
Most recently, the Imlil murder case made international headlines in 2018 after two Scandinavian tourists were brutally murdered in Morocco by ISIS-linked members.
