The Moroccan Prison Observatory presented proposals to reduce the number of inmates in correctional facilities, following a warning from the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration about the risk of the prisoner count reaching a record high. The observatory called for the establishment of a national monitoring and rescue committee, comprising various concerned parties, to conduct visits to prisons and observe the onsite realities of accommodation there.
It also urged for urgent measures to limit pre-trial detention and to release inmates whose sentences will expire in the next three months, or whose cases are stalled in investigative offices. The civil body additionally emphasized the need to grant new powers to judicial and administrative oversight mechanisms so that they can fulfill their roles, whether regarding comprehensive coverage of correctional facilities or providing proposals related to the issue of overcrowding.
On a legislative level, the Moroccan Prison Observatory called for the expedited presentation of the criminal law and procedure to Parliament, the organic law for challenging the constitutionality of laws, alternative sentencing laws, and the release of all political prisoners and social movement detainees. The number of inmates in Moroccan correctional facilities reached a record high, exceeding 100,000 prisoners as of August 7 of this year, while the prisons' capacity does not exceed 64,600 beds, according to official data from the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration.
