Government orders enquiries into torture allegations
Morocco, Politics, 7/22/2004

The Moroccan Government has ordered enquiries into torture allegations reported by several national and international Non Governmental Organizations (NGO), a move, it said, comes in respect of the law and the Kingdom's international commitments.

In reaction to the recently published 2003 report by the Moroccan advisory body on Human rights "Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l'Homme" (CCDH), the Ministries of Justice and the Interior, brought some "observations" namely concerning the role of the Direction Generale de la Surveillance du Territoire (DGST, secret police) saying its mission, methods and regulations "are no different" from similar bodies around the world.

The DGST was criticized in the CCDH report which was welcomed by the government as "it heralds a tradition that will benefit our country" and gives a "real, credible, and impartial representation of the Human Rights situation in Morocco."

The creation of the DGST "responds to the need of putting in place an intelligence service in charge of protecting and safeguarding the State's interests and institutions.," both ministries said in a communiquŽ at the opening of the 22nd session of the CCDH.

The DGST's task is to " seek, prevent, on the intelligence level, activities inspired, committed or supported by subversive or terrorist movements," as well as "to control eventual foreign interference."

The Government, they said, while taking note of the concerns voiced by the CCDH regarding some abuses during the arrests and prosecution as part of the investigations in the aftermath of the May 16, 2003 terrorist acts in Casablanca (killing 45 people including the 12 suicide bombers), said those concerns "require clarifications and the setting up of new mechanisms with a view to react swiftly to human rights abuses."

Morocco's justice department on Tuesday drafted a law incriminating torture and completing the penal code's provisions in the field.

The ministry said in a release the project defines torture as "any prejudice causing pain or physical or moral harm, committed with premeditation, encouraged, approved or concealed by a civil servant to intimidate or compel the tortured person or another, to provide information or indications, or to acknowledge a deed they, or another person, have committed or have allegedly committed, and when such pain or torture was committed for a discriminatory reason, whatever its nature."

Under the draft, anyone who commits torture shall face 5 to 10 years in jail and a 10,000 to 30,000 Dh ($1,100 to 3,300) fine, beside denial of one or more rights among those mentioned in article 40 of the penal code.

Under the international convention against torture, which was approved by Morocco, each State shall take effective legislative, administrative and judicial measures to ban torture in all regions under their management, and incriminate torture acts and sue their perpetrators.

Morocco had announced last May its intention to remove its reservations on six international human rights conventions.

The then Human Rights Minster, Mohamed Aujjar, who made the announcement at the House of Representatives (parliament), explained that the reservations were made about the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, children's rights and elimination of discrimination against women.

Other reservations concerned two treaties on political and civic rights, and economic social and cultural rights.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco drafts anti-torture law   (7/21/2004)
  NGO for release of Moroccans from Tindouf camps set up in London   (7/5/2004)
  Amnesty International calls for prosecuting human rights violators in Tindouf Camps   (5/28/2004)

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