Justice Ministry vows to 'regularize' situation of former detainees

Moroccan Justice Minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, has vowed to "regularize" the situation of former political detainees and exiled persons, at a meeting, in Rabat Wednesday, with a delegation of Human Rights associations based abroad.

The meeting focused on problems encountered by these people at their arrival to and departure from Morocco, despite the royal pardon granted to them in 1994. They said they were still subject to harassment at the different border controls, due to the non cancellation of the arrest warrant issued against them more than a decade ago.

The delegation includes representatives from the Human Rights Association based in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

The delegation held a similar meeting Tuesday with officials from the Interior Ministry who pledged to stop all forms of harassments against these people.

The meeting, chaired by Mohamed Yassine Mansouri, Director General of Interior Affairs, is part of actions conducted by the Justice and Reconciliation Commission (IER) which started last week public hearing sessions of victims of human rights abuses committed between 1956 and 1999.