Morocco’s National Human Rights Council Report Puts Makhzen Prisons Under Scrutiny
✍️ 𝓑𝔂: 𝓓𝓻. 𝓗𝓪𝓷𝓪 𝓢𝓪𝓪𝓭𝓪
ALGIERS, March 9th, 2026 — The latest annual report of Morocco’s National Human Rights Council has shed light on deeply troubling conditions inside prisons and other places of detention during 2024, presenting data that raises serious concerns about the protection of fundamental rights within the country’s penal system.
The figures presented in the report suggest that the challenges facing Morocco’s correctional institutions extend beyond isolated incidents and point instead to structural problems linked to prison conditions, criminal justice policies, and the broader issue of safeguarding human dignity for those deprived of liberty.
Hundreds of Deaths in Detention
According to the report, more than 249 deaths were recorded in places of deprivation of liberty during the year. The General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration reported 239 deaths inside correctional facilities, including six women. In addition, regional committees of the Human Rights Council documented 92 further deaths in various detention environments, along with 10 additional fatalities in police custody or psychiatric institutions.
While the report attributes many of these deaths to chronic illnesses, medical complications, or suicide linked to psychological distress, the figures have nevertheless intensified concerns among rights advocates. Critics argue that limited access to healthcare services inside prisons and chronic overcrowding may contribute to deteriorating health conditions among detainees.
Over 1,300 Hunger Strikes
Another alarming indicator identified in the report is the sharp rise in hunger strikes among inmates. During 2024, 1,317 hunger strikes were recorded across Moroccan prisons.
Of these cases, 186 were directly linked to prison conditions, while 1,131 were related to protests against prosecutions or judicial rulings affecting the detainees.
Some of the strikes lasted for extended periods, reflecting deep frustration among prisoners. For example, the report mentions prolonged hunger strikes in several facilities, including the Oudaya local prison, where one strike lasted more than 70 days, Bouizakarne prison, where a protest continued for 63 days, and Oujda prison, where a detainee’s health significantly deteriorated after 58 days of fasting.
Such incidents illustrate how hunger strikes have become a last-resort form of protest for inmates who believe their grievances are not being adequately addressed.
Complaints of Torture and Ill-Treatment
The report also documented 142 complaints related to torture or degrading treatment. Among these were two direct allegations of torture and 140 complaints concerning ill-treatment.
These complaints involved several institutional actors, including six complaints against members of the National Police, five against the Royal Gendarmerie, one against an official affiliated with the Ministry of the Interior, and 128 complaints related to prison institutions.
Structural Challenges in the Prison System
The report acknowledges that many of the tensions inside prisons stem from structural issues affecting the penal system. Among the most frequently cited problems are severe overcrowding, insufficient medical care, shortages of beds in certain facilities, limited communication with families, and allegations of harassment or mistreatment.
Combined with the increasing prison population and the widespread use of pretrial detention, these factors have contributed to an environment of persistent tension inside many correctional institutions.
Calls for Reform
In response to these findings, the National Human Rights Council issued a number of recommendations aimed at improving conditions and preventing further deterioration. These include conducting prompt and impartial investigations into allegations of torture, publishing the results of inquiries related to deaths in custody, strengthening access to healthcare for detainees, and reducing prison overcrowding through the expansion of alternative sentencing measures.
The council also recommended allowing lawyers to be present from the earliest stages of police custody and introducing audiovisual recording during police interrogations to ensure greater transparency in criminal procedures.
Taken together, the report’s data paints a troubling picture of the current state of detention conditions in Morocco. When hundreds of deaths and more than a thousand protests occur within prison walls in a single year, the issue can no longer be viewed as a series of isolated irregularities but rather as a systemic challenge requiring substantial reform.
— 𝐄𝐍𝐃 —
📡🌍 | 𝓐𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓜𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓪 𝓖𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓹 | 🌍📡
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📰 𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝓪 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓵𝓫𝓵𝓪𝔃𝓮𝓻 𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓵𝓰𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓭𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓳𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓶, 𝓭𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓲𝓰𝓱-𝓺𝓾𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝓐𝓻𝓪𝓫𝓲𝓬, 𝓕𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓱, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓔𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓱. 𝓦𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 📈 500,000 𝓭𝓪𝓲𝓵𝔂 𝓬𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓴𝓼, 𝓲𝓽 𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓪𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓷𝓯𝓵𝓾𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓶𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓪 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓼 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽𝓻𝔂.🏆 𝓐𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓡𝓮𝓹𝓾𝓫𝓵𝓲𝓬’𝓼 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝔃𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓯𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓙𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓔𝓵𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓲𝓬 𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼 𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓰𝓸𝓻𝔂 (🗓 𝓞𝓬𝓽𝓸𝓫𝓮𝓻 22, 2022), 𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓲𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓵𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓰𝓷𝓲𝔃𝓮𝓭 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓰𝓻𝓲𝓽𝔂.
📱 𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓓𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓽𝓪𝓵 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓱:
🔴 600,000+ 𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓼𝓾𝓫𝓼𝓬𝓻𝓲𝓫𝓮𝓻𝓼
🔵 6 𝓶𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓲𝓸𝓷+ 𝓯𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓬𝓻𝓸𝓼𝓼 𝓕𝓪𝓬𝓮𝓫𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓹𝓪𝓰𝓮𝓼
📸 70,000+ 𝓘𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓶 𝓯𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓼🎥 𝓞𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓽𝓮-𝓸𝓯-𝓽𝓱𝓮-𝓪𝓻𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓸𝓼, 𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓼 𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓱 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓭𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓶𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓭𝓲𝓷𝓰:
🗞 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼 | ⚽ 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓼 | 🎭 𝓔𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽 | 🕌 𝓡𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓲𝓸𝓷 | 🎨 𝓒𝓾𝓵𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓮🗣️ 𝓕𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓪𝓵𝓴 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓮𝔁𝓬𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓯𝓲𝓰𝓾𝓻𝓮𝓼 𝓯𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓹𝓸𝓵𝓲𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓼, 𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓼, 𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮, 𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓼 𝓪 𝓴𝓮𝔂 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓹𝓾𝓫𝓵𝓲𝓬 𝓭𝓲𝓼𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓼𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓬 𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓪𝓰𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽.
📰 𝓘𝓽𝓼 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓽 𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓼 𝓭𝓪𝓲𝓵𝔂, “𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓢𝓹𝓸𝓻𝓽,” 𝓮𝓷𝓳𝓸𝔂𝓼 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 50,000 𝓭𝓪𝓲𝓵𝔂 𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓷𝓵𝓸𝓪𝓭𝓼 𝓿𝓲𝓪 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓸𝓯𝓯𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝔀𝓮𝓫𝓼𝓲𝓽𝓮—𝓯𝓾𝓻𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓬𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶’𝓼 𝓶𝓾𝓵𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓪 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹.
🎖️ 𝓗𝓸𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓪 𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹 𝓐𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭 𝓫𝔂 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓮𝓻 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓸𝓯 𝓒𝓸𝓶𝓶𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷, 𝓜𝓸𝓱𝓪𝓶𝓮𝓭 𝓛𝓪â𝓰𝓪𝓫, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓬𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓫𝓻𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓗𝓲𝓵𝓪𝓵𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓣𝓮𝓵𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼, 𝓓𝔃𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝓣𝓾𝓫𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓾𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓲𝓷𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷, 𝓲𝓷𝓯𝓵𝓾𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓪𝓬𝓽.
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