Morocco: Abderrahim Abourkha Tortured in Detention

On 10 November 2015, Alkarama sent an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur on Torture (SRT) to inform him of the recent deterioration of Abderrahim Abourkha's health following the torture and ill-treatment he was subjected to during his detention. Currently bdetained in solitary confinement at the Salé prison in the Rabat suburb, where many detainees allege to have been tortured or subjected to ill-treatment by prison guards with complete impunity.

Arrested without judicial warrant in February 2008, Abderrahim was initially held incommunicado at the secret detention centre in Temara, south of Rabat, known as the "torture centre in Morocco," where he was tortured and forced to sign confessions. Accused notably of "setting up a gang to prepare and commit acts of terrorism" under the "Belliraj" terrorism case, the father of two was sentenced by the Rabat Tribunal to 10 years in prison on the basis of confessions extracted under torture, following a grossly unfair mass trial. The Belliraj trial, bearing the name of the main accused, was held from 2008 to 2010 and was characterised by the great diversity of the 35 convicts. The Moroccan authorities accused them of involvement in assassinations in Belgium in the 1980s. 34 of the 35 accused were sentenced on appeal to "terrorism" without an examination by the Court of the procedural irregularities they suffered during their detention.

Following his conviction on appeal in July 2010, Abderrahim was first incarcerated in solitary confinement in the Salé prison in 2012 before his transfer to the Toulal prison (Meknes) where he was also a victim of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the prison guards, to the point that he now suffers from severe hearing impairment.

Moved back to the Salé prison in 2013, Abderrahim continues to undergo the same treatments and remains to date in solitary confinement. When his wife visited him recently, she found his body covered with bruises and his eyes abnormally swollen, proving that he had recently been beaten again. He now suffers from repeated hallucinations and serious psychological damage, probably consecutive to the repeated torture and particularly inhumane conditions he was subjected to for many years. As his physical and mental health have deteriorated alarmingly, his wife expresses doubts regarding any form of medical care provided to her husband in prison: "My husband is about to lose his mind and should be immediately supported or at least kept in more appropriate conditions," she told Alkarama before adding: "I simply want justice to be done and that those responsible for these acts are punished."

Alkarama calls on the Moroccan authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure that detention conditions comply with international law standards, in particular the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, so that his physical and moral integrity is preserved. As a State party to the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) since June 1993, the Moroccan prison authorities must immediately halt all acts of torture and ill-treatment against Abderrahim Abourkha and all those detained in prisons in the country, whatever the reasons for their detention, and ensure that such violations do not reoccur.

For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 10 08).