Rights groups demand action to free Moroccans held in Thai-Myanmar border camp

Rights groups demand action to free Moroccans held in Thai-Myanmar border camp
AFP
Sunday 26 May 2024 - 22:46

The Moroccan Coalition of Human Rights Organizations has issued an open letter to several ministries and institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling for urgent intervention to free Moroccan citizens detained in Myanmar.

The coalition has also sent letters to the Chinese and Thai embassies in Rabat, urging them to intervene with the authorities in their respective countries to work for the rescue of the detained Moroccans.

The NGo noted that the families of human trafficking victims in Myanmar have revealed that more than 200 Moroccan citizens are being held in a camp in Myanmar on the Thai-Chinese border, where they are being subjected to detention, torture, ill-treatment, malnutrition, lack of health care, violence, forced labor and exploitation in online scams.

The Moroccan Coalition is urging the government and international powers to intervene in the case of over 200 Moroccan citizens allegedly trapped in Myanmar.

The coalition blames a lack of job opportunities in Morocco for pushing these young people towards desperation, making them vulnerable to criminal trafficking rings.

The human rights groups are demanding urgent action from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant institutions. They’re pleading for the government to secure the release of the detainees and ensure their safe return.

The situation for the families is agonizing.  They’ve filed numerous complaints but haven’t seen any significant progress.  Their pleas are met with a single, tepid response: a statement from Morocco’s Prosecutor General’s Office acknowledging the situation and promising an investigation.

The families haven’t been idle.  They’ve managed to free a few individuals through a combination of international aid and, in some cases, ransoms paid directly to the captors. The human rights coalition emphasizes the emotional and financial strain these families are enduring.

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