Rabat – The General Delegation for Prison Administration (DGAPR) responded to the recent remarks made by journalist Omar Radi, who sharply criticized Moroccan prisons and his detention conditions in Ain Sebaa 1 and Tilfet 2 prisons.
Radi made his remarks in a new interview published last week, claiming he was subject to alleged psychological and physical issues.
DGAPT rejected Radi’s “baseless” claims, describing them as “an allegation,” noting that Radi had personally requested to be put in a jingle cell, which they responded favorably to.
DGAPR further stressed that the cell met hygiene and dignity standards, denying that he was subject to “Excessive surveillance.”
DGAPR said that the measures are standardized and apply to all detainees, particularly for phone communications and mail exchanges.
In his interview, Radi claimed his cell at Tifelt 2 was infested with insects. ButDGAPR has strongly refuted the allegations, noting that the journalist’s cell was regularly maintained and that the transfer was made at his own request.
DGAPR also spoke of an incident that took place during Radi’s imprisonment, recalling a time when he was fractured in his arm during an arm-wrestling match with a fellow inmate.
The prison authority said the former prisoner received medical care and a surgery, and that his family was informed immediately and were allowed to visit him at the prison hospital.
An investigation was launched into the altercation, DGAPR said, noting Radi also had access to the facility’s scheduled activities and medication was provided to him, spending on medical prescriptions.
In July 2021, a Moroccan court sentenced Omar Radi to a six-year prison sentence for “rape” and “receiving funds from a foreign agent.”
Casablanca’s Court of Appeal upheld the same sentence against the journalist in March 2020, but he was granted a royal pardon in July last year.
DGAPR also condemned recent claims made by journalist Soulaiman Raissouni, who was recently released from prison on a royal pardon.
In an interview with Spanish news agency El Independiente, Raissouni made strong remarks about Morocco’s prison administration and judiciary, accusing them of “unethical practices.”
“I knew what to expect: imprisonment and worse than prison,” the journalist claimed, alleging that his writing was confiscated during his time in detention.
In response, DGAPR said Raissouni’s comments on Moroccan prisons’ “unethical practices” are fabricated allegations that are part of what the prison authority described as continued attempts to “tarnish the reputation of the prison and reintegration sector” in Morocco.
Raissouni’s allegations also seek to affect the reputation of Morocco’s prison officials and staff, DGAPR said, denying his claims that he had a “record-breaking” hunger strike.
It stressed that it had previously issued a statement revealing that the journalist was consuming various food and dietary supplements during the period he claimed to be on a hunger strike.
