Morocco records unprecedented number of prison inmates

Mohamed Salah Tamek, the general delegate of the prison administration, sounded the alarm about overcrowding in carceral institutions.

Tamek stated this Wednesday that “Morocco reached a record number of incarcerated inmates.”

During his presentation of the draft budget of the General Delegation for Prisons to the Committee of Justice and Legislation in the House of Representatives, Tamek confirmed that the number of prison inmates currently amounts to 89,711 detainees, a historic precedent. Adding that pre-trial detainees constitute 45% of the total prison population.

In 2020, the prison population significantly decreased due to a royal pardon during the COVID-19 pandemic, but incarceration records surged back up.

Tamek also said that the number of cases of COVID-19 infections has reached 741 as of this date, adding that “no case of infection has been recorded since last October 29.”

The rate of vaccination in Moroccan prisons, as of the 8th of November, has reached 95% of the prison population.

The official explained that the number of prison inmates saw a 15% increase in the last 9 months.

In terms of health services provided to prisoners, the general delegate stated that while a mere 14% of treatments are provided in external public health institutions, with 1% performed by the private sector, 85% of health services are provided to prisoners inside carceral institutions.