Moroccan prisons overcrowded, report
Morocco, Culture, 5/24/2001

The Moroccan prison observatory noted in its 2000-2001 report the overcrowding of Moroccan prisons as the major problem.

The observatory which conducted a census last January estimates the number of inmates at 54,800 for a capacity of 39,000. All prisons are overcrowded, the only exception is the prison of Kenitra where two wards are empty, the report says.

The non-governmental independent association set up in 1999 to monitor inmates rights to dignity, human treatment, protection, training and integration in life after release, also deplores poor quality of living conditions, airing, meals and hygiene in prison kitchens.

The kitchen staff is not submitted to the necessary health controls, says the association which also notes a decrease in the budget earmarked for medical services from 11.68 Million DH ($ 1.06 million) in 1999-2000 to 10 million ($0.9 million) in 2000-2001. Inmates are also facing a lack in education, training and leisure activities, due to a shortage of pedagogic staff and equipment while minors and women are not given due heed as a special category of the inmate population. Morocco has only two specialized centers for minors.

The association also deplores cases of sexual deviations, drugs consumption and corruption which it ascribes to the lack of staff and the degradation of their situation.

The report was compiled after visits to 11 prisons by the association which praised the positive attitude of the administration.

The mission meant to evaluate the situation in prisons after the adoption of a new law on prison organization and management. The association considers the law as a positive legislative reform but cautions that its provisions should be enforced.

For the Moroccan justice department, the report only contains conclusions and is not exhaustive as the association did not visit all the Moroccan prisons. Head of the penitentiary administration and re-integration, Mohamed Lididi, says Morocco has 43 penitentiary institutions, in addition to 19 ones under construction while 12 others are being revamped and enlarged.

Meanwhile the 2000-2004 plan projects the building of 34 other prisons and the refurbishment and extension of others, depending on the budget earmarked after the sale of real estate properties owned by the justice department.

The official went on in an annex attached to the report that his administration is endeavoring to increase the prison capacity. He also explained that the budget to feed inmates was increased by 20% in the five last years and that the diet is established in collaboration with the health ministry.

Reacting to the report criticism over the lack of medical staff, Lididi says 126 medical doctors are working with the prison administration, which is a ratio of one doctor for each 450 prisoners while the national ratio, outside prisons, is one doctor for each 5,000 citizens.

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