Mostapha El Amrani describes atrocious detention conditions after independence

Former detainee, Mostapha El Amrani, testified on Wednesday in Rabat, in the framework of the public hearings held by the Justice and Reconciliation Commission (IER) on the atrocious torture and ill-treatments he suffered during his detention in the wake of independence.

El Amrani, a militant of the national movement within the Choura and Istiqlal party, started his testimony by expressing thanks to the IER for the opportunity he was given to recount the circumstances of his kidnapping on June 6, 1956 five kilometres from Tangiers before being transferred to a secret detention location, known as "Jnan Bricha" where he was handcuffed and tortured.

"I spent two or three days in this location with other detainees," he said, adding that "words would not be sufficient to describe how he was received by the persons supervising this detention location."

The former detainee relates how after the days spent in "Jnan Bricha," "we were taken to other detention sites in Al Hoceima then in Nador" where he says he met other people who had militated for the liberation of Morocco from the yoke of colonization.

Each day brought its share of torture, tears and sufferings, he recollects, noting how some inmates died as a result of the cruel and atrocious torture. Some of the detainees were beaten with big sticks by prison guards who used to pour hot water on their wounds.

After a period in the detention center in Nador, he relates how that they were taken back to "Jnan Bricha" where they found out that several detainees had been released, including Ahmed Amghar, Mohamed Toufiq and Abdeslam Aadaoui." "We were then transferred to Dar Sebta where torture continued," he said.

In these conditions, "we thought which crime we have committed to deserve such a treatment after all the sacrifices we made, including fighting for the liberation of our country," he went on.

Following a period in the secret detention centers of Tetouan, Al Hoceima and Nador, El Amrani, born in 1925, was released in 1957.

The period during which El Amrani was detained was marked by the conflict between the Istiqlal party and the party of Choura and Istiqlal, mainly after the constitution of the first coalition government, led by Ahmed Bekay, on December 7, 1955.

The Choura and Istiqlal party considered that the five ministerial portfolios they were assigned did not meet the expectations of their party, at a time the Istiqlal party was given ten ministerial portfolios.

The dispute between the two parties degenerated in several regions of Morocco.