State crackdown on freedoms and opponents increased during pandemic, finds report

Human rights situation deteriorated in Morocco amid the pandemic, as authorities used the health emergency situation to limit freedoms and take revenge of the opposition, said the Moroccan Center for Human Rights.

On the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Moroccan Center for Human Rights issued a report on the situation of human rights, health and employment in the Kingdom amid the emergence of COVID-19.

“There was an unjustified exploitation of the pandemic in our country: the practice of widespread violations against citizens by representatives of public authorities, including repression, restrictions and exaggerated judicial follow-ups,” said the report.

This year witnessed a sharp decrease in the rate of protests, mainly due to the decisions banning gathering and demonstrating, and the suppression of the few organized protests under the pretext of imposing a state of emergency due to Corona, and the follow-up to those calling for organizing protests.

The document said the state targeted media and human rights activists, known for their opinions and writings “that expose manifestations of corruption and tyranny, as it is the case for Tawfiq Bouachrine, Suleiman Raissouni, Omar Radi and Imad Estito who have been trialed for different charges.”

The center also said that denying unvaccinated citizens the right to access to their workplaces and suppressing their protests is “an unjustified violation of the citizens’ rights.”

The report also criticized the wide margin of discretion granted to criminal judges, the weakness of mechanisms for tracking the case of criminal recidivism and the implementation of punishment and the large number of asylum to pretrial detention.

Regarding the right of health in the kingdom, the human rights association said that the state failed this vital sector, as many hospitals around the country are void of doctors, and working medical gear, while emergency departments in the majority of hospitals are always in chaos.

The slow bureaucratic process in treating Ramid card holders’ requests, resulted the death of many patients before their treatment’s date arrive, according to the report.

“The decline in the economic situation in our country and the failure of public policies to reduce the repercussions of the pandemic have caused a major collapse among the middle class.”

Morocco’s labor market has become under an annual deficit of nearly 300,000 jobs, according to the 2021 statistics, with more than 3 million breadwinners are still working in the informal sector, meaning that more than ten million people are outside the social and health coverage, and the retirement system.

“More than one million families fell into poverty during this year, according to experts’ estimates, without government measures having any effectiveness in this regard,” said the report.