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Join on Telegram Doha – Following a police raid on Thursday, authorities discovered 19 people being held in degrading conditions at an illegal psychiatric facility in a farm near El Kelaa des Sraghna, in Morocco’s Marrakech-Safi region.
The operation was triggered by a complaint filed by a family member of one of the victims.
The victims, many of whom suffered from mental health disorders and drug addiction, were found in what investigators described as inhumane conditions.
They had been brought to the facility from various Moroccan cities including Tangier, Casablanca, Tetouan, Marrakech, and Meknes, with some having been held there for nearly two years.
According to investigators, families were paying between MAD 1,000 ($100) and MAD 1,500 ($150) monthly for their relatives’ “care.”
The scheme was orchestrated by the farm owner, who, along with his son and a nurse allegedly from Tetouan, convinced families they could treat their relatives’ mental health conditions within two years.
The investigation revealed that instead of providing treatment, the suspects allegedly supplied the victims with drugs and psychotropic substances to maintain their addictions.
The operation was exposed when one patient experienced severe complications from excessive drug use, prompting the farm owner to contact the family, who then alerted authorities.
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Younes Lakrik, the regional delegate of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, reported that following their rescue, the victims were transferred to El Kelaa des Sraghna’s psychiatric hospital.
Medical examinations determined that five individuals require extended hospitalization, while others may continue treatment with their families, pending court approval.
Six suspects have been presented to the investigating judge at Marrakech’s Court of Appeal.
They face charges including human trafficking, kidnapping, detention, forced labor exploitation, and complicity.
A woman is being prosecuted separately for failing to report a crime.
Investigators suspect the involvement of a broader network of intermediaries across Morocco, including in Marrakech, Agadir, Casablanca, and Laayoune, who helped connect families with the illegal facility.
The case has drawn parallels to the notorious Bouya Omar Mausoleum, which was shut down in 2015 following widespread human rights violations.
That facility, also located in El Kelaa des Sraghna, had housed mentally ill patients in chains. It charged families MAD 786 ($79) monthly, generating approximately MAD 8 million ($800,000) annually before its closure by the Ministry of Health.
