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In addition, there are numerous detainees who have expressed their desire to meet with Mr. Méndez, notably the group of detainees in the so-called "Café Argana" affair who have been recently transferred from Zaki prison to Salé's Moul Lbargui à Safi prison.
These detainees, many of whom were subjected to torture, accused of terrorism and sentenced in unfair trials on the sole basis of confessions extracted as a result of this torture, had undertaken a hunger strike to protest against their unexplained transfer to other prisons outside the reach of the Special Rapporteur's visit. One of the detainees of the group affirmed that they "were clearly being prevented from meeting with the Special Rapporteur to attest to the torture they suffered."
The authorities of the General Delegation of the Penitentiary Administration – under the direct authority of the the King – seemed to accept the visit by the Special Rapporteur to the Toulal prison in Meknes and Zaki in Salé only after having transferred a number of detainees away from these centers. Since spring 2011, these prisoners had undertaken hunger strikes to denounce the torture they had suffered, their sentences based on their confessions obtained under torture, and to demand a review of their cases.
Finally, we are particularly concerned with the summoning of several human rights defenders by the Moroccan intelligence services who interrogated them about the subject of their upcoming meeting with the Special Rapporteur. "This type of practice clearly intends to intimidate and pressure the human rights activists and creates a tense atmosphere for this visit," said Rachid Mesli, Director of Alkarama's Legal Department.