Improving detention conditions tops government priorities, spokesman

Improving detention conditions ranks high among the government's priorities, said in Rbat on Tuesday Nabil Benabdellah, communication minister and government spokesman, following a government meeting.

The spokesman said justice minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, in his presentation before the government members, said the situation in Moroccan prisons is normal. Following the blaze early November in a jail, near El Jadida, that killed 50 inmates, the minister said the authorities have taken all measures to prevent the recurrence of this kind of tragic incidents. After judiciary and administrative investigations, an executive at the center was arrested and charged with manslaughter.

He also recalled that investigations have found indications that the fire was actually an arson.

The communication minister further ascribed the bad living conditions in prisons to over-crowding, the poor infrastructure and the lack of funds, praising the keen interest granted by King Mohammed VI to the situation of prisons and prisoners.