Morocco denies existence of secret detention centers

Moroccan justice minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, denied, Friday, the existence of secret detention centers in Morocco, as alleged by Amnesty International.

The detention center cited by Amnesty International, in a report published recently, is a "legal center of the police department," Bouzoubaa told the press on the fringes of the graduation ceremony of attaches of justice cohorts.

The ministry of justice, he said, is currently examining the report of Amnesty International and "will provide answers about cases of alleged breaches" contained in the report, he underlined.

Bouzoubaa said the "five cases" of breaches mentioned in the report are "rare and isolated," given the large number of people, nearly 2,000, arrested under the counter-terrorism law, that was enacted in May 2003.

The law was enacted in the wake of the terrorist attacks that hit the city of Casablanca on 16 May 2003, killing 45 people, including 12 suicide bombers, and injuring scores of others.

The justice minister recalled, in this connection, that his department had previously provided answers concerning a number of observations made about this issue by some human rights associations in Morocco.

Public life in Morocco is regulated by laws and the constitution, he said, noting that authorities see to the respect of law and implementation of provisions of the penal code in order to guarantee individual freedoms, fair trials and the right to defense.