The Moroccan Association for Aid to Migrants in Vulnerable Situations (AMSV) called on Algeria on Thursday to expedite the repatriation of Moroccan migrants currently incarcerated in Algerian prisons.
In an open letter addressed to key Algerian officials such as Interior Minister Ibrahim Mourad and Justice Minister Abderrachid Tebbi, AMSV, based in the border city of Oujda, called upon Algerian authorities to grant a general amnesty to incarcerated Moroccan migrants.
The association also emphasized the need to facilitate and accelerate the repatriation process.
AMSV voiced concerns over the prison conditions faced by Moroccan migrants in Algeria and urged Algerian authorities to release a comprehensive list of detainees. This would enable their families to identify them, ensuring access to medical care and the right to legal representation.
Hassan Ammari, the president of AMSV, told EFE that the association is currently aware of 98 cases of Moroccan migrants detained in various Algerian prisons. Some have been in pretrial detention for a year, while others have received harsh sentences.
Ammari expressed regret over the strained relations between the two neighboring countries, which have further complicated their efforts.
The NGO’s letter urged Algerian authorities to allow international humanitarian personnel to visit the detained migrants.
In addition to the appeal to Algerian authorities, AMSV sent letters to the Red Cross representation in Tunisia and the Union of Arab Lawyers.
Ammari shared that most of the 789 repatriated Moroccan migrants over the past two years returned via the “Coronel Lotfi-Zouj Bghal” border crossing, opened specifically for these operations.
A few others returned through flights from Tunisia, funded by their families. The president disclosed that another plane, carrying 19 repatriated Moroccan migrants from Algeria, is expected to arrive in the coming hours on a plane from Tunisia.
Over the past two years, AMSV has successfully assisted in the return of 789 Moroccans who were residing irregularly in Algeria.
It is noteworthy that the land border between Algeria and Morocco has been closed since 1994. Diplomatic tensions between the two nations, exacerbated by the Western Sahara conflict, escalated in August 2021 when Algeria severed ties with Morocco and closed its airspace to its western neighbor.
Ammari pointed out that Algeria had, on exceptional occasions, opened its border to repatriate the bodies of Moroccan migrants who drowned while attempting to reach Spain. AMSV has assisted in repatriating 41 deceased migrants so far.
With increased border controls in Morocco, many Moroccan migrants are seeking alternative routes, often traveling to Algeria and Tunisia in an attempt to cross into Spain or Italy from there.
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