The General Delegate of the Prison Administration and Rehabilitation, Mohamed Tamek said on Wednesday that overcrowding of prisons has reached a dangerous level.
Tamek revealed during the discussion of the prison administration’s sub-budget at the Council of Advisers that the current level of overcrowding poses a serious threat and undermines all efforts to ptotect the rights of prisoners.
The official said that when the administration receives a new inmate, it cannot reject them but must instead accommodate them with others.
The official said that Morocco’s prisons are no longer capable of admitting new inmates, revealing that the number of prisoners has increased from 100,000 two months ago to 103,000 at present.
Tamek further added that he had not issued a statement about the prison population until after sending messages to the head of government, the judiciary, the public prosecutor, and all officials, informing them that the prison situation is critical due to overcrowding.
Tamek criticized the reactions, especially from judges, following the issuance of the statement saying “suppose I made a mistake issuing the statement, then what is the answer to overcrowding?”
Tamek pointed out that the problem lies in criminal law and criminal procedure, as well as in the concept of pretrial detention.
Tamek questioned the reason behind sending someone to pretrial detention when they have financial guarantees and will not flee.
Tamek said that Morocco has 27 prison facilities with international specifications, but they are no longer sufficient to accommodate the increasing number of prisoners. He added that the state is unable to build new prisons, which cost between 160 and 200 million dirhams.
Tamek suggested resorting to private prisons through a partnership between the public and private sectors, where companies would build and lease prisons to the state for 30 years
Tamek explained that prison employees are working beyond human capacity, despite receiving inadequate wages, and haven’t had a salary increase since 2009.
Regarding alternative sanctions, the official said that they would be implemented if the conditions are met, including having 4,000 employees dedicated to enforcing alternative sanctions and allocating a budget for the process.
Tamek said that the delegation had completed a study in 2016 on alternative sanctions, concluding that their impact is not substantial. He further explained that comparisons with other countries are not appropriate, and that this law will reduce the prison population.
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