Rabat – The number of female inmates within the Moroccan prison system has surged at a rate surpassing that of their male counterparts in 2023, according to the 2023 report from the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation.
The female prisoner population increased by 7.8% between 2022 and 2023, marking the highest annual rise in the past decade. This trend stands in contrast to the 5.55% increase observed among male prisoners during the same period.
The report noted a significant rise in the country’s prison population, reaching a total of 102,653 inmates by the end of 2023.
The report highlighted various demographics within the prison system, revealing that 2.47% of the inmates are women, 2.19% are elderly, and 1.22% are juveniles. In addition, 47.68% of the prisoners are under 30 years old, while 0.32% are classified as disabled.
The period between 2019 and 2023 saw an 18.83% increase in the number of prisoners in the country. The report noted a slight decrease of 1.6% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on court activities and the implementation of exceptional amnesty measures.
Mohammed Saleh Al-Tamak, the General Delegate for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation, expressed concern over the continuous rise in the prison population.
Despite efforts to address this trend, the number of inmates has not decreased, prompting the delegation to issue warnings and implement administrative and judicial measures.
In 2023, there were a total of 75 prison institutions in Morocco, including 67 local prisons, 4 agricultural prisons, 2 central prisons, and 2 rehabilitation and correctional centers.
Pre-trial detainees account for 37.56% of the total prison population, while unemployed individuals make up 15.41%, illiterates 10.69%, and foreigners 1.48%. The report noted that 62% of the inmates are unmarried.
Short-term sentences, between two years or less, constitute the majority of convictions, representing nearly 50% of all sentenced prisoners. Meanwhile, the percentage of inmates serving life or death sentences does not exceed 1%.
The report also documented 1,357 cases of hunger strikes in prison institutions, with 1,068 attributed to external reasons, 202 related to detention conditions, one case involving both detention conditions and external reasons, and 38 cases for other reasons.
The Directorate expects the number of prisoners to increase by 1.10% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with a projected overall increase of 19.54% by 2028 to reach an estimated 22,714 inmates.
