Articles for Morocco

On 21 April 2002, Alkarama submitted its contribution to the draft general comment of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) on Article 4 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process conducted by States within the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, consists of "reviewing the human rights achievements of all UN Member States".

The United Nations Committee against Torture, initially seized by Alkarama on 30 October 2018, has recognized the responsibility of the Moroccan State due to the torture suffered by Mohamed Hajib following his arrest and conviction for alleged terrorist acts to ten years in prison based solely on confessions extracted under torture.

The human rights situation in Morocco will be examined for the fourth time in the framework of its next Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations Human Rights Council scheduled for November 2-18 2022 in Geneva.

On 1 July 2021, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) regarding the situation of Mr Driss SEDRAOUI, President of the Moroccan League for Citizenship and Human Rights, who was arrested and imprisoned for having participated in a rally organised on 8 March 2021 in honour of International Women's Day.

The facts

Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, has called on Morocco to stop "targeting human rights defenders and journalists who defend human rights issues related to Western Sahara, and to allow them to work without reprisals".

The daughter of Moroccan detainee, Rachid Al-Ghribi Al-Aroussi sentenced to 20 years in prison, of which 17 years and 7 months have passed, appealed to King Mohammed VI, asking him to release her father under an exceptional pardon due to his health condition, according to a letter obtained by Alkarama.

The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) overturned a notice to arrest prominent German-Moroccan activist Mohamed Hajib appeals to the international body, which in turn ruled that Hajib had merely exercised his right of expression and opposition as a citizen.
The Moroccan prosecutor's office issued an international arrest warrant against Mr. Hajib for his opposition to Moroccan authorities.

Abdul Rahman Alhaj Ali was released on May 16, 2018, putting an end to three and a half years of arbitrary detention in Morocco. Alhaj Ali has been detained since October 30, 2014 at Salé prison pending extradition to Saudi Arabia.

On August 22, 2016, the UN Committee against Torture called on the Moroccan authorities to cancel the extradition and release Alhaj Ali, citing the systematic use of torture and ill-treatment in Saudi Arabia.

Arrest and detention

Faced with the threat of extradition from Morocco to Egypt, Egyptian journalist Hany Khater announced his intention to go on hunger strike from March 14, 2018 to protest against his recent transfer to a high security institution.