Rabat – Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) responded to allegations on the detention conditions of prisoners sentenced in connection with the Gdeim Izik camp events.
The case dates back to a 2010 tragedy that occurred on the outskirts of Laayoune, when a group of Moroccan security forces was killed by Polisario members.
Around 23 defendants received sentences ranging from two years to life imprisonment in 2017 for their involvement in the Gdeim Izik case. Since their imprisonment, the inmates’ cases have sparked controversies over their allegations concerning prison conditions or their hunger strike.
In a statement today, DGAPR responded to the new allegations, especially those from the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), which recently claimed that eight prisoners detained in connection with the Gdeim Izik events are on hunger strike.
The DGAPR also took issue with other allegations concerning their “detention conditions, health status and demands for transfer.”
In response to their allegations, the delegation cited the two organizations’ “failure to take into account two previous statements” DGAPR published to inform the public about the situation of the prisoners concerned.
DGAPR also said that the two notices provided accurate information about their conditions, unlike the interpretation from FIDH and OMCT, which relied solely on reports published in “certain newspapers and websites affiliated with opponents of Morocco’s territorial integrity.”
Recalling information that the delegation stated in its two previous statements, DGAPR emphasized that only five prisoners are currently on hunger strike and not eight, as claimed by the two organizations.
It explained that six prisoners from the group announced their intention to begin a hunger strike, five at Kenitra Central Prison and one at Tiflet 2 Local Prison.
On September 30, the prisoner at Tiflet 2 Local Prison announced he was ending his hunger strike, while the remaining prisoners are not on hunger strike.
DGAPR emphasized that those who are not on hunger strike receive and consume their meals every day.
Those who started a hunger strike were placed under the standard protocol applicable in such cases and are subjected to continuous medical monitoring, DGAPR said.
“They also received the institutional, human rights, and judicial visits provided for by law,” the statement added.
In response to allegations concerning prisoners’ demands for transfer, DGAPR said that one prisoner was transferred from Tiflet 2 Local Prison to Laayoune Local Prison at his own request on September 23.
The prisoner had no more than four years remaining on his sentence and was not on a hunger strike.
Another prisoner was also transferred to a local prison in Marrakech at his own request.
Meanwhile, one prisoner was transferred to Ben Guerir Local Prison as a disciplinary measure following an “improper offense he committed” in a prison facility where he had been detained.
All those who were transferred were allowed to contact their families to inform them about their whereabouts, and their relatives also visited them, the delegation stated, concluding that “responsible organizations active in defending and promoting human rights are called upon to ensure objectivity in the reports and statements they publish.”
It also called on the organizations to conduct the necessary investigations “rather than relying exclusively on specific sources seeking to mislead public opinion with false information for dubious purposes.”
