Probe on torture allegations in Moroccan jail, 'a victory to the rule of law', HR activist
Morocco, Judicial, 1/31/2005

The Justice Minister's decision to open a probe on cases of alleged torture in the prison of Outeta 2 (Meknes) is "a victory to the rule of law," stated Ahmed Chawki Benyoub, member of the Justice and Reconciliation Commission (IER).

This "important" decision will allow to "immediately and spontaneously" counter violence, pointed out Benyoub, in a statement published Friday in "Assabah" newspaper, underlining that this decision, which is line with the democratic process that the Kingdom has launched, aims at incriminating torture.

Benyoub, also president of the human rights protection group in the Advisory Council of Human Rights (CCDH), recalled that families of some inmates informed the CCDH on the torture practiced against their relatives by some guards.

The Council, noted Benyoub, has dispatched a commission on the premises in order to prepare a report about the abuses that take place in the prison of Outeta 2. This report was subsequently submitted to the Justice Ministry which, in turn, decided to refer this case to the justice.

The Minister of Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, had instructed the general prosecutor of the appellate court of Mekn�s to submit to the investigating magistrate a file on alleged cases of torture that occurred in the prison of Outeta.

The Ministry said in a release this decision was taken after a CCDH commission, which visited the penitentiary, drew up a report noting inmates' claims of been subjected to torture by some guards.

In a similar case, the General Prosecutor of Ouarzazate appellate court confirmed that the medical expert's report on persons, that alleged to be victims of torture in the police station of Zagora, revealed that they were not subjected to "violence nor assault and battery."

This statement was made in a release of the Public Prosecutor's office following the publication, on January 13, 2005, of an article by "Assabah" newspaper titled "Citizens undergo torture in the police station of Zagora."

The Public Prosecutor's office decided to close the probe after the medical expert's report.

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