Rabat – Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) denied on Tuesday Amnesty International’s recent accusations of torture and human rights violations against prisoner (L.H) detained in connection with the Gdim Izik Incidents.
The country’s prison authority said in a statement that the prisoner, who is detained at the local prison of Tiflet 2, “has never been subjected to any assault by the prison staff.” It added, “Like all inmates, he enjoys all the rights stipulated in the law regulating prisons.”
The DGAPR argued that Amnesty International is “spreading a set of lies by seizing the propaganda of the enemies of Morocco’s territorial integrity, and trying to turn it into facts without making any effort to verify its authenticity.”
In addition, it described the NGO’s practices as a “blatant violation of the basics of the human rights work that the organization claims to practice.”
In its recently published report on “the state of the world’s human rights,” Amnesty International claimed that “torture and other ill-treatment continued with impunity both inside and out of prisons, particularly against Sahrawi activists.”
Read also: What the World Needs To Know about Gdim Izik Incidents
The NGO particularly claimed that “several times in March, prison guards beat” prisoner (L.H).
The Gdeim Izik case dates back to a 2010 incident in Morocco’s southern regions, specifically on the outskirts of Laayoune. The incident involved a protest camp, known as Gdeim Izik, which was set up by a group of people demanding greater economic and social opportunities.
Moroccan security forces dismantled the protest camp in November 2010, resulting in violent clashes with Polisario members, who killed 12 police officers.
Moroccan authorities put on trial around 23 suspects on various charges, including affiliation with a criminal gang and “violence against public forces that led to their death with premeditation, the mutilation of corpses, and complicity.”
The suspects received prison sentences ranging from two years to life imprisonment.
Since then, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly accused Morocco of inhumane treatment of said prisoners.
Last year, the DGAPR responded to similar accusations from the two NGOs, and described them as “unfounded allegations.”
“These detainees are housed in naturally ventilated and lighted cells, benefit from family visits, collective catering provided by private companies, baths in lukewarm water, and lighted playgrounds,” DGAPR said.
