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Marrakech – Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH) President Amina Bouayach has commented on the recent royal pardon that converted death sentences for 23 inmates to fixed terms, part of King Mohammed VI’s broader clemency initiative for Throne Day.
According to Bouayach, these 23 pardoned individuals represent a substantial portion of Morocco’s 54 prisoners with final death sentences.
The Justice Ministry had announced that a total of 19,673 convicts benefited from royal pardons, marking the 26th anniversary of the King’s accession to the throne.
“Over two and a half decades, royal pardons have covered more than 240 death row inmates who received sentence conversions,” Bouayach stated. “This is approximately four and a half times the current number of prisoners with final death sentences.”
Bouayach revealed that 185 people have had their death sentences converted in just the past five years since 2020. She characterized capital punishment as “harsh and ineffective” from a human rights perspective.
The CNDH president referenced Article 20 of the 2011 Constitution, which protects the right to life. While Moroccan courts continue to issue death sentences under existing law, no executions have been carried out since 1993.
The Justice Ministry’s announcement detailed that the broader royal pardon included 2,415 standard pardons and 17,258 exceptional clemency measures. Among those receiving exceptional clemency, 114 prisoners had life sentences reduced to fixed terms, while the 23 death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.
According to CNDH data, Morocco currently has 86 individuals sentenced to death as of late 2024. Of these, 54 have received final judgments while 32 cases remain in the appeal or cassation process. Only one woman is among those sentenced to death.
Bouayach’s comments come in the context of Morocco’s evolving position on capital punishment. In December 2024, Morocco voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions – a historic shift after 17 years of abstention since the resolution’s first introduction in 2007.
Following that vote, Bouayach described it as “a major step forward in protecting the right to life, the foundation of all other rights.” She gathered with human rights defenders at CNDH headquarters to “document a special moment on the occasion of Morocco’s vote on the resolution.”
The CNDH has consistently advocated for abolishing capital punishment through awareness campaigns alongside the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
Their joint efforts have included pushing for Rabat to vote in favor of the UN Third Committee recommendation for a universal moratorium on death penalty implementation.
Bouayach has previously expressed disappointment about the absence of provisions for abolishing capital punishment in the draft reform of the Criminal Code.
The CNDH grounds its advocacy in the constitutional protection of the right to life and Morocco’s international human rights commitments, while emphasizing that no concrete evidence links the death penalty to crime reduction.
