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Maroc
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{{Languages|Morocco}}
  
A. Introduction générale du pays
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=General introduction=
  
Le Royaume du Maroc est un pays situé au nord-ouest de l’Afrique du Nord, dont le régime politique est une monarchie constitutionnelle. Le pays fait partie de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, de la Ligue Arabe, de l'Union du Maghreb arabe, de l'Organisation de la coopération islamique et de l'Organisation internationale de la francophonie et de l'Union pour la Méditerranée.
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The Kingdom of Morocco is a country located in the western region of North Africa. Morocco’s political system is a constitutional monarchy. The country is a Member State of the United Nations, the Arab league, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the International Organization of La Francophonie and the Union for the Mediterranean.
  
Depuis une vingtaine d’années (correspondant à la dernière décennie du règne du Roi Hassan II puis à l’arrivée au pouvoir de son fils, le Roi Mohammed VI), le Maroc a connu des avancées partielles dans le domaine des droits de l’homme, telles que l’adoption de législations plus protectrices. Néanmoins, des violations perdurent, tels des actes de torture, de répression violente, de violations des droits et garanties judiciaires et certaines régressions sont même à déplorer.
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In the last two decades (corresponding to the reign of King Hassan II and the arrival of his son, King Mohammed VI), Morocco made progress in the area of human rights especially by providing more protective laws for its citizens. Nevertheless, human rights abuses continue to occur in Morocco, such as acts of torture, social repression, violations of procedural guarantees and other setbacks.  
  
Dans le domaine des droits de l’homme, les années 1990 et 2000 au Maroc ont été marquées par la signature et la ratification de plusieurs traités et conventions relatifs à la protection des droits de l’homme, y compris la signature, mais pas encore la ratification, du Statut de Rome de la Cour Pénale Internationale le 8 septembre 2000. Durant cette période, la Commission d’arbitrage et l’Instance Équité et Réconciliation ont entrepris un important processus de réconciliation avec les victimes et les familles des personnes disparues, à travers des enquêtes sur les abus commis et la reconnaissance de la responsabilité de l’État. D’autres mesures significatives ont aussi été prises, telles que la création du Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l’Homme, la libération d’un grand nombre de disparus détenus dans plusieurs lieux tenus secrets, la réforme du Code de la Famille qui améliore le statut de la femme au Maroc, l’adoption de la loi n°43-04 définissant et incriminant la torture, et la promulgation de la nouvelle Constitution en juillet 2011.
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In the area of human rights, the 1900s and 2000s witnessed the signature and ratification of many treaties and agreements concerning the protection of human rights, including the signature of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on September 8, 2000. Also during this period, the Moroccan Equity and Reconciliation Commission has embarked on a substantial reconciliation process with victims and families of disappeared people, through investigations on acts of misconducts and abuses committed by the State.<ref>www.usip.org/publications/2004/12/truth-comission-morocco; </ref>
  
Malgré ces avancées, le respect et la protection des droits de l’homme au Maroc demeurent fragiles et le bilan reste mitigé. Face aux défis liés à la lutte anti-terroriste, à la contestation sociale et au statut du Sahara, certaines instances déplorent que de nombreux droits fondamentaux, civils et politiques, mais aussi économiques, sociaux et culturels fassent encore l’objet de violations graves.
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Further steps have been taken by Morocco, such as the creation of the Advisory Council on Human Rights on April 20, 1990,<ref>http://www.mission-maroc.ch/fr/pages/218.html</ref> the release of a great number of political detainees, the reform of the Family Code that improved the status of women in Morocco,<ref>http://www.libreafrique.org/Mengad-moudawana-100614</ref> the adoption of Law n°43-04 defining and criminalizing torture and the drafting of the new Constitution in July 2011.<ref>http://www.amb-maroc.fr/constitution/Nouvelle_Constitution_%20Maroc2011.pdf</ref>
  
Plus récemment toutefois, avec les révolutions qu’a connu le monde arabe depuis fin 2010, le Maroc a vu l’émergence d’un mouvement de protestation appelé le Mouvement du 20 février, réclamant plus de démocratie et de justice sociale. L’État marocain a réagi de diverses manières aux actions de ce mouvement pacifique. La société civile déplore notamment des interventions violentes ayant entrainé plusieurs cas de décès dans les régions de Séfrou, Safi et Al Hoceima. Les forces de l’ordre sont aussi accusées d’instrumentaliser des citoyens en les utilisant comme contre-manifestants pour entraver l’exercice du droit à manifester et à protester pacifiquement.  
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Despite those positive developments, the respect and protection of human rights in Morocco remain weak and the results remain mixed. In the face of challenges posed in the fight against terrorism, the social protests<ref>http://www.ires.ma/documents_reviews/nouveaux-mouvements-sociaux-et-protestations-au-maroc/, page 7</ref> and the status of the Sahara,<ref>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Western_Sahara</ref> certain instances still deplore existing violations of fundamental rights.
  
Soulignons que c’est toutefois le travail du Mouvement du 20 février qui a ouvert le chantier des réformes législatives récentes, commençant par la révision et l’adoption d’une nouvelle Constitution en juillet 2011 et d’un nouveau Code de procédure pénale.  
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More recently, following the Arab Spring, Morocco has witnessed the emergence of a new social movement called the Movement of February 20th, calling for more democracy and social justice.<ref>https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouvement_du_20-Février</ref> Morocco has responded in a number of ways to the actions of this pacifist movement, namely with violent interventions causing deaths in the regions of Séfrou, Safi and Al Hoceima.<ref>https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouvement_du_20-Février</ref> The police is also said to be involved in using citizens as counter-demonstrators to disrupt the exercise of the right to demonstrate peacefully.<ref>World Organisation Against Torture, Evaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Convention contre la torture et autre peine ou traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant par le Maroc, November 2011, page 5 available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec656002.html [accessed 24 March 2017]</ref>
  
De plus, au cours des dernières années, le gouvernement a autorisé l’accès à plusieurs mécanismes de l’ONU chargés des droits humains qui souhaitaient se rendre au Maroc et au Sahara occidental. Le 29 mai, Navi Pillay, alors Haut Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'homme en visite officielle, a noté les « grands progrès [du Maroc] dans la promotion et la protection des droits de l’homme », mais a cité plusieurs domaines de préoccupation, notamment la torture, les restrictions de la liberté d’expression, et la nécessité de mettre en application les lois garantissant les droits contenues dans la constitution de 2011.
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It is, however, important to note that the Movement of February 20th opened the door to important legislative reforms in Morocco, such as the revision and adoption of a new Constitution in July 2011 and the adoption of a new Penal Procedure Code.<ref>Maroc: Code de procédure pénale [], Dahir n° 1-58-261 du 1er chaabane 1378 (10 février 1959), 10 February 1959, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b5104.html [accessed 24 March 2017]</ref> 
  
Comme les années précédentes, le Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies a renouvelé le mandat de la force de maintien de la paix au Sahara occidental (MINURSO), sans toutefois l’élargir pour y inclure la surveillance de la situation des droits humains, élargissement auquel le Maroc est pour l’instant fortement opposé.
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Also, in the last years (since 2012), Morocco has authorized access to United Nations bodies in charge of the protection of human rights to visit Morocco and the Western Sahara. Moreover, on May 29, 2014, Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at that time mentioned, after an official visit, Morocco’s “great strides towards the better promotion and protection of human rights” but also pointed out areas of concerns, notably the use of torture, some restrictions on freedom of expression and the necessity to adopt laws enforcing the legitimate rights set out by the 2011 Constitution.<ref>United Nations Humane Rights, Office of the High Commissioner, Opening remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at a press conference in Rabat, Morocco, 29 May 2014, available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14652&LangID=E; </ref>
  
B. Procédure pénale marocaine
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Finally, as in the past years, the United Nations Security Council renewed the peacekeeping mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Resolution 690, 1991, of April 29 1991 <ref>http://www.un.org/fr/documents/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/690(1991)</ref>), but without broadening it to include the surveillance of human rights. Morocco is, for the time being, vehemently opposed to such surveillance.  
  
Les articles pertinents à la procédure pénale marocaine se retrouvent tous au Code de procédure pénale, Loi 22-01 (ci-après le « CPP »). Le CPP a subi une réforme majeure en 2011, dans un souci d’intégrer certaines normes du droit international en vigueur et de protéger davantage les droits et libertés des accusés. Cette vision appert d’ailleurs du préambule même du CPP :
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=Criminal procedure=
  
«  () la réforme de la loi de la procédure pénale de 1959 s’est axée autour de la nécessité de garantir un procès équitable, selon les normes internationales des droits des individus, d’une part, et de préserver l’intérêt général et l’ordre public d’autre part ».  
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The Penal Procedure Code (hereinafter “PPC”) includes all of Morocco’s relevant criminal procedure sections.<ref>Maroc: Code de procédure pénale, Dahir n° 1-58-261, the latest version (2011) is available only in Arabic, non-official French version available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b5104.html;</ref> The PPC underwent an important reform in 2011 in an effort to integrate international norms and to better protect the rights of the accused. This objective has been laid out in the preamble of the PPC itself (French only):
  
La procédure criminelle marocaine se divise en trois phases : la phase d’enquête, la phase d’instruction et le procès (à laquelle se joint l’application de la sentence).  
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''“(…) la réforme de la loi de la procédure pénale de 1959 s’est axée autour de la nécessité de garantir un procès équitable, selon les normes internationales des droits des individus, d’une part, et de préserver l’intérêt général et l’ordre public d’autre part.”''<ref>Id.: “the reform of the 1959 Code revolves around the necessity of guaranteeing fair trials in accordance with international law on one hand, and on the other to preserve public order.”</ref>
  
Chaque phase comporte son type d’intervenant : la police judiciaire, responsable de la phase d’enquête, le procureur du roi et le juge d’instruction, davantage impliqués lors de la phase d’enquête et d’instruction, et finalement, les magistrats responsables du procès.
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Morocco’s criminal procedure is divided into three phases: the inquiry phase, the pre-trial phase and the trial phase, which includes the enforcement of the sentence.  
  
1. Phase d’enquête
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Each phrase has its own actor: the judiciary police is responsible for the inquiry phase, the royal prosecutor and the examining magistrate are more involved in the pre-trial phase and finally, the trial judges conduct the trial and the sentencing phase.  
  
Les officiers de la police judiciaire du Maroc sont chargés de la phase d’enquête, qui consiste à recevoir les plaintes et dénonciations, constater les infractions et rassembler des preuves. Tel qu’expliqué ci-après, ils possèdent des pouvoirs accrus en cas de crime ou délit flagrant, c’est-à-dire qui viennent d’être commis ou sont en cours d’exécution (voir définition de « flagrant » à l’article 58 CPP).
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==Inquiry phase==
  
Pendant la phase d’enquête, la police judiciaire est soumise à la supervision du procureur du Roi, compétent pour autoriser certaines mesures attentatoires aux droits et libertés des suspects.
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Moroccan judiciary police is in charge of the inquiry phase. It consists of receiving complaints and denunciations, record infringements and gathering evidence. As explained below, the judiciary police has increased powers in cases of crimes and acts that just occurred or are being committed. <ref>Id., see definition of flagrant offences at section 58; </ref>
  
i) Saisies pour fins d’enquête
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During the inquiry phase, the judiciary police is supervised by the royal prosecutor who has the authority to order measures infringing on the rights and freedoms of suspects, as explained below.
  
En cas de crime ou délit flagrant, les officiers de la police judiciaire peuvent se transporter au domicile de toute personne qui pourrait avoir participé au crime ou détenir des pièces convictions et procéder à des saisies (article 61 CPP). Aucune autorisation n’est nécessaire pour procéder à de telles saisies.
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===Seizures conducted for the purpose of the inquiry===
  
Toutefois, si la saisie a lieu dans le cadre de l’enquête préliminaire d’un crime ou délit non flagrant, l’autorisation expresse de la personne chez qui elle a lieu doit être accordée aux officiers de police (article 81 CPP).
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In case of crimes or flagrant offences, the officers of the judiciary police may visit the home of any person who can be involved in the act or might detain information and can seize any pertinent object.<ref>Id., section 61; </ref> No authorization is necessary in those cases. However, if the seizure is carried during the preliminary inquiry of a non-flagrant act, the officers need to obtain the express authorization of the owner of the place where the seizure is occurring.<ref>Id., section 81;</ref>
  
Dans tous les cas, la saisie doit être effectuée en présence de la personne concernée ou d’un représentant qu’elle désigne. Si la saisie est effectuée chez quelqu’un en fuite, les officiers nomment deux témoins extérieurs pour y assister (article 62 CPP). Sauf exceptions, les perquisitions et les visites domiciliaires ne peuvent être effectuées avant 5 heures du matin et après 21 heures le soir (article 64 CPP).
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In any case, the seizure needs to be conducted in the presence of the individual concerned or his or her designated representative. If the seizure is conducted at a fleeing individual’s home, the officers have to name two external persons to witness the search.<ref>Id., section 62;</ref> Unless otherwise stipulated, house searches cannot be conducted before 5 am and after 9 pm.<ref>Id., section 64;</ref> 
  
ii) Détention pour fins d’enquête
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===Detention for the purpose of investigation===
  
Dans le cadre de son enquête, un officier de police peut détenir une personne soupçonnée d’un crime ou d’un délit punissable par l’emprisonnement pour une durée maximale de 48 heures (articles 68 et 82 CPP). En cas de crime ou délit flagrant, ce droit de détention s’étend aussi à toute personne nécessaire aux fins de l’enquête (article 68 CPP).  
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As part of the investigation, a police officer can detain a suspect of a crime or a serious offence (an offence punishable by imprisonment), for a maximum of 48 hours.<ref>Id., sections 68 and 82;</ref> In cases of crimes and flagrant offences, any person necessary to the investigation can also be detained.<ref>Id., section 68;</ref>  Before the expiration of the 48 hours detention, the individual detained has to be brought in front of the royal prosecutor who can then authorize in writing an extension of the detention for another 24 hours.<ref>Id., sections 68 and 82;</ref>
  
Avant l’expiration du délai de 48 heures, la personne détenue doit obligatoirement être amenée devant le procureur du Roi, qui peut accorder l'autorisation écrite de prolonger la garde à vue d'un nouveau délai de 24 heures (articles 68 et 82 CPP).
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==Pre-trial phase==
  
2. Phase d’instruction
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The pre-trial phase is obligatory in cases of crimes and optional in cases of offences.<ref>Id., section 84; Crimes, such as murder in the first degree, are considered the most serious violations of the law while offences, such as obscenity, are infractions of lesser importance, see Maroc: Code Pénal, 26 November 1962, consolidated version of September 15, 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54294d164.html, section 7;</ref> During this phase, the examining magistrate will determine, at the request of the royal prosecutor, if there is enough evidence to bring the suspect to trial.<ref>Id., section 85;</ref> 
  
L’instruction préparatoire n’est obligatoire que lorsqu’un crime est commis et est facultative en cas de délit (article 84 CPP). Durant cette phase, le juge d’instruction, à la demande du procureur du Roi, déterminera s’il existe suffisamment de preuves à l’encontre d’un suspect et tout complice pour les inculper et éventuellement les amener à procès (article 85 CPP).  
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During the pre-trial phase, the examining magistrate possesses broad investigation powers. As explained below, he can issue orders and warrants,<ref>Id., sections 135 and following; </ref> conduct pre-trial examinations of witnesses,<ref>Id., sections 109 and following;</ref> and conduct searches and seizures.<ref>Id., section 86; </ref>
  
Lors de la phase d’instruction, le juge possède des pouvoirs étendus d’enquête. Tel qu’expliqué en détails ci-après, il peut délivrer des ordonnances et des mandats (articles 135 et suivants CPP), procéder à des interrogatoires avant procès (article 109 et suivants CPP) et à des perquisitions et saisies (article 86 CPP).
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===Warrants===
  
i) Mandats
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The examining magistrate can deliver three types of warrants: a notice to appear in court, a notice to bring the witness in and an arrest warrant.
  
Trois types de mandats peuvent être délivrés par le juge d’instruction : le mandat de comparution, le mandat d’amener et le mandat d’arrêt.
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The notice to appear summons the suspect to appear in front of the magistrate at the date and time indicated on the warrant.<ref>Id., section 137;</ref> 
  
Le mandat de comparution a pour objet de mettre l'inculpé en demeure de se présenter devant le juge à la date et à l'heure indiquées sur le mandat (article 137 CPP).  
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The notice to bring a suspect in gives the police the right to bring the suspect in front of an examining magistrate who then has to conduct an examination of that suspect, without any delay.<ref>Id., section 139; </ref> If the examination cannot be conducted immediately, the suspect is brought into detention for a maximum of 24 hours. If the examination does not take place in the 24 hour timeframe, the suspect is brought in front of the royal prosecutor who will order the magistrate to proceed immediately to the examination, failing which the suspect has to be released.<ref>Id., section 140; </ref>  Section 142 of the PPC indicates that a suspect arrested under a notice to bring in who is detained for more than 24 hours without being examined is considered as illegally detained.  
  
Le mandat d’amener est quant à lui transmis à la police, qui se charge d’amener immédiatement le suspect devant le juge d’instruction (article 139 CPP). Normalement, un interrogatoire du suspect doit avoir lieu sans délai. Si l'interrogatoire ne peut être immédiat, le suspect est conduit en maison d'arrêt, où il ne peut être détenu plus de 24 heures. S'il n'a pas été interrogé après 24 heures, il est conduit d'office devant le procureur du Roi, qui requiert le juge d'instruction de procéder immédiatement à l'interrogatoire, à défaut de quoi l'inculpé est mis en liberté (article 140 CPP).
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After the examination and if the alleged offence is a crime or an offence punishable by imprisonment, the suspect can then be send into preventive detention.<ref>Id., section 146;</ref>  The conditions and limits of such detention are explained below.  
  
Après l’interrogatoire et si l’infraction reprochée est un crime ou un délit punissable par l’emprisonnement, le suspect peut être retourné en maison d’arrêt (article 146 CPP) pour détention préventive (voir section suivante).
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Finally, an arrest warrant can be issued if the suspect is on the run or if he lives outside of Morocco and if the alleged offence is a crime or an offence punishable by imprisonment.<ref>Id., section 147;</ref> The examination of a suspect arrested has to be conducted in the 48 hours following his arrest, failing which he will be considered illegally detained. <ref>Id., section 149;</ref>
  
Le CPP précise d’ailleurs, à son article 141, qu’un suspect arrêté en vertu d’un mandat d’amener et détenu plus de 24 heures sans avoir été interrogé est considéré comme arbitrairement détenu.
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===Examinations===
Un mandat d’arrêt peut être délivré lorsque le suspect est en fuite ou s'il réside hors du Maroc, et si les faits incriminés constituent un crime ou un délit punissable d'une peine d’emprisonnement (article 147 CPP). L’interrogatoire d’un suspect arrêté en vertu d’un mandat d’arrêt doit quant à lui avoir lieu dans les 48 heures de son arrestation, à défaut de quoi il sera considéré comme arbitrairement détenu (article 149 CPP).
 
  
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The first examination of the suspect is conducted in front of an examining magistrate at the date and place indicated on the notice to appear. The magistrate has to inform the suspect of the facts alleged against him and of his right to remain silent. If the suspect wishes to make declarations, they will be recorded by the magistrate.<ref>Id., sections 127 and 128;</ref>
  
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During this initial examination the suspect can be assisted by a lawyer.<ref>Id., section 127;</ref> However, in the case of an emergency, such as a witness in danger of death or if there is evidence that is about to disappear, the examining magistrate has the right to immediately proceed to the suspect’s examination even in the absence of their lawyer.<ref>Id., section 128;</ref> At a later stage, however, the suspect cannot be heard or confronted in the absence of their lawyer unless they expressly gave up their right to a counsel.<ref>Id., section 132;</ref>
  
ii) Interrogatoires
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Finally, the examining magistrate can also call in any witness whose statements could be useful to the case and can examine them.<ref>Id., section 109;</ref> These statements take place away from the presence of the suspect.<ref>Id., section 111;</ref> 
  
Le premier interrogatoire du suspect a lieu à la date indiquée au mandat de comparution, en présence du juge d'instruction. Celui-ci doit indiquer au suspect les faits qui lui sont reprochés et l'avertit qu'il est libre de ne faire aucune déclaration s’il le désire. Si l'inculpé désire spontanément faire des déclarations immédiates, celles-ci sont reçues par le juge d'instruction.
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===Seizures===
  
Le suspect a le droit d’être assisté par avocat lors de sa première convocation devant le juge d’instruction (article 127 CPP). Toutefois, le juge d'instruction peut immédiatement procéder à l’interrogatoire d’un suspect et à des confrontations, sans la présence d’un avocat, en cas d'urgence résultant de l'état d'un témoin en danger de mort ou de l'existence d'indices sur le point de disparaitre (article 128 CPP).  
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Seizures conducted during the pre-trial phase are subject to the same conditions as the seizures conducted during the investigation phase.<ref>Id., sections 62 and 64;</ref> Section 104 of the PPC does, however, specify that all documents and objects seized during the pre-trial phase must be identified and sealed. The seals can only be opened in the presence of the suspect and their lawyer.  
  
Par la suite toutefois, le suspect ne peut être entendu ou confronté qu'en présence de son avocat, et ce, à moins d’y renoncer expressément (article 132 CPP).  
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The examining magistrate only maintains the seizures of the objects and documents necessary to the discovery of the truth and of those that, if disclosed, would undermine the ongoing investigation.
  
Le juge d'instruction peut aussi convoquer devant lui toute personne dont la déposition lui paraît utile et le faire témoigner (article 109 CPP). Ces dépositions se font hors de la présence du suspect (article 111 CPP).
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It is important to note that the pre-trial phase in Morocco is secret, written and conducted as an inquisition. The suspect has no opportunity to contest the evidence gathered against him during this phase. <ref>Id., section 15;</ref>
  
iii) Saisies
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Finally, once the magistrate ends his investigation, he gives his recommendation to the public ministry in the form of an order indicating if there is enough evidence against the suspect to prosecute him, or not.<ref>Id., sections 197 and 200;</ref> 
  
Les saisies effectuées lors de la phase d’instruction sont soumises aux mêmes conditions que celles effectuées lors de l’enquête (articles 62 et 64 CPP). L’article 104 CPP spécifie toutefois que tous les objets et documents saisis lors de la phase d’instruction doivent être inventoriés et placés sous scellés et que ces scellés ne peuvent être ouverts qu'en présence du suspect, assisté de son avocat. Le juge d'instruction ne maintient que la saisie des objets et documents utiles à la manifestation de la vérité ou dont la communication serait de nature à nuire à l'instruction.
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==Preventive custody==
  
Il est important de noter que la phase d’instruction est secrète, écrite et inquisitoire. Elle est aussi non-contradictoire, c’est-à-dire que le suspect n’a aucune opportunité de contester la preuve accumulée contre lui, à ce stade. 
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After their first appearance and examination the suspect can be release until trial or placed in preventive custody.<ref>Id., section 155;</ref>
  
Lorsque le juge d’instruction a terminé son enquête, il transmet sa recommandation au ministère public sous forme d’ordonnance indiquant si les preuves sont suffisantes ou non.
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A statutory release can be ordered by the examining magistrate on the advice of the royal prosecutor. The suspect has to inform the court of all his whereabouts, has to appear when required and can be asked to provide a personal guarantee. <ref>Id., section 155;</ref>
  
3. Détention préventive
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Preventive custody is an extreme measure.<ref>Id., section 152; </ref> A person suspected of committing an offence that carries a sentence of less than two years of imprisonment and that has never been convicted of a crime cannot be detained for more than ten days after their first appearance.<ref>Id., section 153; </ref> If a suspect has previously been convicted of a crime they can be detained for up to three months.<ref>Id</ref> In all other cases the detention cannot exceed two months.<ref>Id., section 154;</ref> 
  
Après la comparution et premier interrogatoire du suspect, celui-ci peut être mis en liberté de façon provisoire jusqu’à son procès, ou être détenu préventivement.
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Upon expiration of this period and if continued detention appears necessary, the magistrate may extent it with a reasoned order upon a reasoned request from the royal prosecutor. This extension cannot exceed an additional two months. <ref>Id., section 154;</ref>
  
La mise en liberté d’office peut être ordonnée d'office par le juge d'instruction après avis du procureur du Roi, à charge pour le suspect de se présenter à tous les actes de la procédure et d’informer la cour de tous ses déplacements. Elle peut en outre être subordonnée à l'obligation de fournir un cautionnement (article 155 CPP).  
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The suspect or their lawyer can also ask the court for a provisional release at any time during the proceedings subject to the rules set out at sections 156 and 157 PPC.  
  
La détention provisoire est quant à elle une mesure exceptionnelle (article 152 CPP). En matière de délit, lorsque le maximum de la peine prévue par la loi est inférieur à deux ans d'emprisonnement et que le suspect n’a jamais été condamné pour un crime, il ne peut être détenu plus de dix jours après sa première comparution devant le juge d'instruction (article 153 CPP). S’il a déjà été condamné pour un crime, il ne peut être détenu plus de trois mois (article 153 CPP). Dans tous les autres cas, la détention ne peut excéder deux mois (article 154 CPP).
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==End of the pre-trial phase==
  
À l'expiration de ce délai, si la détention apparaît nécessaire, le juge d'instruction peut la prolonger par ordonnance spécialement motivée, sur demande également motivée du procureur du Roi. La prolongation ne peut être que d’une durée maximale de deux mois (article 154 CPP).  
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As indicated by section 196 PPC, at the end of the pre-trial phase, the examining magistrate can dismiss the charges if he considers that the facts do not represent a crime, an offence or a misdemeanor, if there is no sufficient evidence against the suspect or if the author of the crime remains unknown.  
  
Le suspect ou son avocat ont aussi la possibilité de demander la remise en liberté provisoire à tout moment de la procédure, selon les conditions indiquées aux articles 156 et 157 CPP.  
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In such cases, all suspects detained are immediately released. The magistrate also decides on the return of the objects and documents seized.  
  
4. Fin de l’instruction préparatoire
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If the examining magistrate considers that a crime, an offence or a misdemeanor has been committed, he submits the file to the competent court depending on the facts.<ref>Id., sections 197 and 200; </ref> At this point, the suspect has a right to appeal in front of the criminal court of the charges against him. <ref>Id., section 206;</ref>
  
Tel qu’indiqué par l’article 196 CPP, à la fin de la phase d’instruction, le juge d'instruction peut rendre une ordonnance de non-lieu s’il estime que les faits ne constituent pas un crime, un délit, ou une contravention, ou qu'il n'existe pas de preuves suffisantes contre le suspect, ou si l'auteur est resté inconnu.
+
==Trial==
  
En de tels cas, les suspects détenus sont remis en liberté. Le juge d'instruction statue en même temps sur la restitution des objets saisis.
+
In Morocco, criminal trials are public unless the defendant asks for a private trial.<ref>Id., section 301;</ref> Criminal court is comprised of a president, two deciding judges, four jurors drawn from a public list, one representative of the Public Ministry and one court clerk. <ref>Id., sections 437 and 438;</ref>
  
Lorsque le juge d’instruction considère qu’une infraction a été commise, il renvoi le dossier devant le tribunal compétent dépendamment de s’il s’agit d’une contravention, d’un délit ou d’une infraction criminelle (voir articles 197 à 200 CPP). Le suspect a le droit d'interjeter appel devant la chambre d'accusation des ordonnances rendues contre lui (article 206 CPP).
+
When a criminal case is ready for trial, it must be submitted to the criminal court for the next available session. The Criminal court holds a session every three months.  
  
5. Procès
+
At trial, the evidence is presented and debated by both parties. The deciding judges can only base their decision on the evidence presented at trial and discussed orally in front of the court.<ref>Id., section 289;</ref> 
  
Les procès criminels au Maroc sont publics, à moins que l’accusé n’ait demandé que son procès se déroule à huit-clos (article 301). Le tribunal criminel est constitué par un président, deux magistrats décideurs, quatre jurés tirés au sort parmi une liste constituée annuellement, un magistrat du ministère public et un greffier (article 437 et 438).
+
The trial starts with the examination of the defendant, followed by the hearings of the witnesses and experts and finally the presentation of the exhibits.<ref>Id., section 305;</ref> In all cases, the defendant has the right to speak last.<ref>Id., section 306;</ref>
 +
 +
==Decision==
  
Lorsqu’une affaire est en état d'être jugée, elle doit être soumise au tribunal criminel à sa plus proche session. Le tribunal criminel tient une session tous les trois mois.  
+
The final decision is rendered public and must indicate the statements of facts and law on which the decision is based, even in the case of an acquittal.<ref>Id., sections 346 and 348;</ref> 
  
La preuve est présentée de façon contradictoire, c’est-à-dire qu’elle est débattue de part et d’autre. Ainsi, le juge ne peut fonder sa décision que sur des preuves versées aux débats et discutées oralement et contradictoirement devant lui (article 289).  
+
Judgments of acquittal or stay of proceedings result in the immediate release of the defendant unless the detention is necessary for another case. Furthermore, no person acquitted or pardoned can be prosecuted later for the same facts (no double jeopardy).<ref>Id., section 351; </ref> 
  
Le déroulement du procès débute par l'interrogatoire de l’accusé s'il est présent, se poursuit par l'audition des témoins et des experts et la présentation, s'il y a lieu, des pièces à conviction (article 305 CPP). L’accusé a, dans tous les cas, le dernier droit de parole (article 306 CPP).
+
==Sentences==
  
6. Jugement
+
There are three types of infractions in Morocco: crimes, offences or misdemeanors. The applicable sentence is the one existing at the time of the occurrence of the infraction, unless the current Criminal Code indicates a lighter sentence.<ref>Maroc: Code Pénal, 26 November 1962, consolidated version of September 15, 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54294d164.html, section 7; </ref> 
  
Le jugement au fond est rendu en audience publique et doit indiquer les motifs de fait et de droit sur lesquels le jugement est fondé, et ce, même en cas d'acquittement (articles 346 et 347 CPP).  
+
Criminal acts in Morocco may be punishable by death, life imprisonment, imprisonment for 5 to 30 years, assigned residence and deprivation of some civil rights such as voting.<ref>Id., sections 16 and 26; </ref> 
  
Tout jugement ou arrêt d'acquittement ou d'absolution entraîne la mise en liberté immédiate du prévenu acquitté, à moins qu’il ne soit détenu pour une autre cause.  
+
Offences are punishable by imprisonment a period between less than one month and up to maximum 5 years, and/or a fine of maximum 1 200 dirhams. <ref>Id., section 17;</ref>
  
Par ailleurs, tout prévenu acquitté ou absous ne peut plus être poursuivi à raison des mêmes faits, même sous une qualification juridique différente (article 351 CPP).
+
Misdemeanors are punishable by a maximum of 29 days of imprisonment and/or a fine of 30 to 1 200 dirhams.<ref>Id., section 18; </ref>
  
7. Sentences
+
The detailed sentences applicable to each type of case can be found in Books 1 and II of the Moroccan Criminal Code.<ref>Id</ref>
  
Au Maroc, il existe trois types d’infraction : l’infraction criminelle, l’infraction délictuelle et l’infraction contraventionnelle. La peine appliquée est normalement celle en vigueur au moment où l’infraction est commise, à moins que la version du Code pénal en vigueur n’édicte une peine plus douce (article 7 du Code pénal), laquelle sera alors appliquée.
+
=Rights of the Accused at All Times=
  
Les peines criminelles au Maroc sont punissables par la peine de mort, l’emprisonnement à vie, l’emprisonnement pour une durée de 5 à 30 ans, la résidence forcée et la dégradation civique (article 16 et 26 du Code pénal).
+
==Double jeopardy==
  
Les peines délictuelles sont punissables par l’emprisonnement pour une durée d’un mois jusqu’à maximum 5 ans et l’amende de plus de 1 200 dirhams (article 17 du Code pénal). Les peines de nature contraventionnelle sont quant à elles punissables par l’emprisonnement d’une durée de moins de 30 jours et par une amende allant de 30 à 1200 dirhams (article 18 du Code pénal).  
+
As mentioned above, in Morocco, a defendant cannot be tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.<ref>Id., see Note 10, section 351;</ref> The double jeopardy principle refers to the binding force of the ''res judicata'', which is intended to protect the defendant’s individual liberties.  
  
Les articles spécifiques aux peines se retrouvent tous aux Livre I et II du Code pénal marocain (https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/SERIAL/69975/69182/F1186528577/MAR-69975.pdf)
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==Legality principle==
  
C. Les droits de l’accusé
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The legality principle is expressly provided in Article 3 of the Moroccan Criminal Law code, which specifies, ''“No crime can be committed, nor punishment imposed, without a pre-existing penal law.”''<ref>Id., see Note 59, section 3;</ref>  Furthermore the Article 4 provides that ''“one cannot face the imposition of criminal sanctions for acts or omissions that were not expressly provided, nor criminal at the time of their commission or omission.”'' <ref>Id., section 4;</ref>
  
1. Principe non bis in idem
+
==Presumption of innocence==
  
Tel qu’indiqué précédemment, au Maroc, nul ne peut être poursuivi ou puni pénalement à raison des mêmes faits (article 351 CPP). Le principe non bis in idem désigne donc l'autorité de la chose jugée, qui interdit toute nouvelle poursuite contre la même personne pour les mêmes faits. Cette règle interdit la double incrimination et répond avant tout à un souci de protection des libertés individuelles de la personne poursuivie.
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Morocco ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on May 3rd, 1979 and published it in the Official Bulletin dated May 21, 1980. This Covenant issues in its article 14 a series of procedural guarantees in favor of the individual charged with felony, including the presumption of innocence. However, the presumption of innocence is nowhere to be found in Moroccan law. Regarding the status of international Treaties in Morocco, no single constitutional provision mentions the automatic application of international conventions in Moroccan law. Moroccan judges remain very reluctant to base their decisions on international texts. <ref>World Organisation Against Torture, Evaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Convention contre la torture et autre peine ou traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant par le Maroc, November 2011, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec656002.html</ref>
  
2. Principe de légalité
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==Standards of proof and standards for conviction==
  
Le principe de légalité est expressément prévu à l’article 3 du Code Pénal marocain, qui précise que  « Nul ne peut être condamné pour un fait qui n'est pas expressément prévu comme infraction par la loi, ni puni de peines que la loi n'a pas édictées ». De surcroit, l’article 4 prévoit aussi que « Nul ne peut être condamné pour un fait qui, selon la loi en vigueur au temps où il a été commis, ne constituait pas une infraction ».  
+
Article 80 of the CCP provides that police officers, either ordered by the King’s prosecutor, or automatically, conduct preliminary inquiries. The Chief of the general public prosecutor’s office is in charge of supervising these operations.  
  
3. Présomption d’innocence
+
Article 81 provides that house searches, house visitations and seizures of incriminating evidence may not be carried out without the consent of the person whose house it is. This consent must be written in the hand of the interested party; if he cannot write, this is mentioned in the report along with his consent.<ref>Id., section 81;</ref>
  
Le Maroc a ratifié le Pacte relatif aux droits civils et politiques le 3 mai 1979 et l’a publié au Bulletin Officiel du 21 mai 1980. Ce pacte édicte notamment à son article 14 une série de garanties procédurales en faveur de la personne inculpée d’infraction, dont la présomption d’innocence.
+
After its visit in Morocco and Western Sahara in December 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has reached the conclusion that:
  
4. Standards de preuve et de conviction
+
''“ The Moroccan criminal system rests largely on confessions as the principal source of incriminating evidence. The complaints received by the Working Group show the use of torture by the State agents in order to obtain evidence or confession during the initial phase of interrogatories (…). The courts and prosecutors do not respect the obligation to automatically open an investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the confessions were obtained by torture and abuse.”'' <ref>Report of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention- Mission to Morocco: Page 10, Section C:  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjLq_-I17TSAhUD7GMKHS35C8YQFggaMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohchr.org%2FEN%2FHRBodies%2FHRC%2FRegularSessions%2FSession27%2FDocuments%2FA-HRC-27-48-Add5_en.doc&usg=AFQjCNGlLmX6rFTINqIGGCQinPdO383hpQ&sig2=hymcY5EyoJP8yxkhWjsTrQ&bvm=bv.148441817,d.cGw;</ref>
  
L’ article 80 du CPP prévoit que les officiers de police judiciaire, soit sur les instructions du procureur du Roi, soit d'office, procèdent à des enquêtes préliminaire. Ces opérations relèvent de la surveillance du chef du parquet général.  
+
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has indicated that the authorities allowed it to get into the detention locations it requested, and to privately question the inmates of its choice.  
  
L’article 81 prévoit quant à lui que les perquisitions, visites domiciliaires et saisies de pièces à conviction ne peuvent être effectuées sans l'assentiment exprès de la personne chez laquelle l'opération a eu lieu. Cet assentiment doit faire l'objet d'une déclaration écrite de la main de l'intéressé; si celui-ci ne sait écrire, il en est fait mention au procès-verbal ainsi que de son assentiment.
+
==Procedure with witnesses==
  
Après s’être rendu au Maroc et au Sahara occidental en décembre 2013, le Groupe de travail des Nations Unies sur la détention arbitraire a conclu que:
+
The CCP provides in Section IV, article 109, that ''“the investigating judge may summon, through an agent of the forces of law and order, any person whose deposition seems useful to him. A copy of the summons is delivered to them. The witnesses may also be summoned by simple letter or through the administrative path; moreover they may appear voluntarily.”'' <ref>See note 10, section 109;</ref> Furthermore, article 111 provides that witnesses are to be heard separately and without the presence of the accused, by the investigating judge assisted by his clerk. A report of their statements is recorded.<ref>Id., section 111;</ref> Article 118 provides that the judge may call out the witness, confront him to other witnesses or the accused and conduct, with their assistance, any operations or reconstructions useful to the truth. <ref>Id., section 118;</ref>
  
« Le système judiciaire marocain pénal repose largement sur les aveux en tant que principale source de preuve à conviction. Les plaintes reçues par le Groupe de travail indiquent l’utilisation de la torture par des agents de l’État pour obtenir des preuves ou des aveux pendant la phase initiale des interrogatoires (… ). Les tribunaux et les procureurs ne respectent pas l’obligation d’ouvrir d’office une enquête lorsqu’il y a des motifs raisonnables de croire que des aveux avaient été obtenus par la torture et des mauvais traitements. »
+
Lastly, article 121 provides that when a witness does not appear and after a second summons addressed to him is not answered, the Investigating judge on request of the King’s prosecutor can, either by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or by summon notified by an agent of the Notifications Office, compel him to appear by public forces and sentence him to a 1.000 to 20.000 francs fine.<ref>Id., section 121;</ref>  This sentence is pronounced by an order that may not be appealed. Nonetheless, if he appears later on, the witness may, on production of his apologies and justification, be released of the fine in whole or in part by the investigating judge, after requisitions by the King’s prosecutor.  
  
Le Groupe de travail sur la détention arbitraire a indiqué que les autorités lui avaient permis de se rendre dans les lieux de détention qu’il avait demandés, et d’interroger en privé les détenus de son choix.
+
==Capital Punishment==
  
5. Procédure: auditions de témoins
+
The death penalty has always existed in Morocco. The Moroccan Criminal Code provides for the death penalty by shooting for: aggravated homicide, torture, armed robbery, criminal fire, treason, desertion, including certain types of attacks against the King or any member of his family (in the strict sense, as defined by the Criminal Code). Between 1956 and 1993, 198 people have been both sentenced to death and executed. However, since 1993, none of the people that were sentenced to death have been executed.<ref>https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peine_de_mort_au_Maroc</ref>
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 +
According to Article 20 of the last Constitution of 2011: ''“The right to life is the first right of any human being. The law protects this right.”'' <ref>http://www.amb-maroc.fr/constitution/Nouvelle_Constitution_%20Maroc2011.pdf</ref> Thus, Amina Bouayach, Moroccan activist for human rights, suggests that this article clearly means that the death penalty should no longer exist in Morocco.<ref>http://www.libe.ma/Amina-Bouayach-vice-presidente-de-la-FIDH-La-communaute-internationale-jugera-le-gouvernement-sur-son-respect-ou-non_a30069.html;</ref> However, on December 22, 2017, Mustapha Ramid, Moroccan Minister of Justice, addressed the Moroccan Parliament and said the principle of the right to life was by no means in contradiction with the death penalty, but subject to rules and conditions.<ref>http://telquel.ma/2014/12/24/hamid-droit-vie-nest-pas-en-contradiction-peine-mort_1427576</ref>
 +
 +
=Fair Trial Rights=
  
Le Code de procédure civile prévoit en sa Section IV, article 109 que « le juge d'instruction fait convoquer devant lui, par un agent de la force publique, toutes les personnes dont la déposition lui paraît utile. Une copie de la convocation leur est délivrée. Les témoins peuvent aussi être convoqués par lettre simple on par la voie administrative; ils peuvent en outre comparaître volontairement ».
+
==Freedom from Prolonged Pre-trial Detention==
  
De surcroit, l’article 111 prévoit que les témoins sont entendus séparément et hors la présence de l'inculpé, par le juge d'instruction assisté de son greffier. II est dressé un procès-verbal de leurs déclarations.
+
The CCP provides in its Section VII, article 153, as regards to torts, when the maximum statutory sentence is less than two years of imprisonment an accused residing in Morocco may not be held in detention for more than ten days after his first appearance before the investigating judge if he has not already been convicted for a crime, or for over three months from for a common law offense.<ref>See note 10, section 153;</ref> The code does not provide the alternative detention duration for non-residents.  
  
L’article 118 prévoit que le juge peut interpeler le témoin, le confronter avec d'autres témoins ou avec l'inculpé et faire, avec leurs concours, toutes opérations ou reconstitutions utiles à la manifestation de la vérité.
+
In the other cases than those provided by the previous article, article 154 provides that pre-trial detention may not exceed two months. After expiration of the deadline, if maintenance in detention appears necessary, the investigation judge may extend it by order especially motivated, rendered on request motivated by the King’s prosecutor. Prosecutors may request as many as five additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention.<ref>Id., section 154;</ref>  Prosecutors may request up to five two-month extensions for pre-trial detention, up to a maximum of one year. However, it has been reported that the authorities regularly keep defendants in custody beyond the one-year limitation.<ref>http://lavieeco.com/news/societe/detention-preventive-au-maroc-lexception-qui-est-devenue-la-regle-23962.html</ref>
  
Enfin, l’article 121 prévoit que lorsqu'un témoin ne comparait pas et après une deuxième convocation demeurée également infructueuse à lui adressée; soit par lettre recommandée avec avis postal de réception, soit par convocation notifiée par agent du bureau des notifications, le juge d'instruction peut, sur les réquisitions du procureur du Roi, le contraindre à comparaître par la force publique et le condamner à une amende de 1.000 à 20.000 francs.
+
The governmental officials allocated these delays to the important accumulation of pending files  and the large backlog of cases in the justice system.<ref>Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 9: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref> The Foreign Secretary stated that several factors contributed to this congestion: a lack of resources devoted to the justice system, human as well as infrastructural; the absence of negotiation possibilities for defence and for the prosecutors; the lengthening of the necessary time to instruct cases on average and; the weak recourse to other devices of extrajudicial resolution sanctioned by the law, such as mediation and arbitration. In a report published in 2012, the International Federation for Human Rights estimated that around 50% of the inmates were in pre-trial detention. In some cases, the sentence imposed to the convict was shorter than the amount of time spent in pre-trial detention. The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights kept reporting that over half of the minors incarcerated were in pre-trial detention. Sometimes, the authorities even held the minors up to eight months before their actual trial.<ref>See note 58, page 13, section E;</ref>
  
Cette condamnation est prononcée par une ordonnance qui ne peut faire l'objet d'aucune voie de recours. Toutefois, s'il comparaît ultérieurement, le témoin peut, sur présentation des ses excuses et justification, être déchargé de l'amende en tout ou partie par le juge d'instruction, après réquisitions du procureur du Roi.
+
==Freedom from Punishment==
  
6. Peine de mort
+
The Moroccan Constitution and Law prohibit the use of torture and the public authorities deny any such practices (Article 22 of the Constitution and article 231-1 of the Criminal Code).<ref>Maroc: Code Pénal, 26 November 1962, consolidated version of September 15, 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54294d164.html, section 231-1. Moroccan Constitution, 2011 version available at: http://www.amb-maroc.fr/constitution/Nouvelle_Constitution_%20Maroc2011.pdf </ref> Several credible narratives regarding cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments against prisoners and inmates confirmed the existence of a ''“common practice of torture and ill treatments, particularly in cases in connection to national security.”'' <ref>Comité Marocain contre la torture, page 20, section 3.3:  http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=search&docid=4ec656002&skip=0&query=droit%20pénal&coi=MAR;</ref>
  
La peine de mort a toujours existé au Maroc. Le Code pénal marocain prévoit la peine de mort par fusillade pour l’homicide aggravé, la torture, le vol à main armée, l’incendie criminel, la trahison, la désertion, y compris certains types d'attentats concernant le roi ou des membres de sa famille (stricto sensu, telle que définie par le Code pénal). Toutefois, des condamnés à mort de longue date, aucun n'ont à ce jour été exécutés ; la dernière exécution a eu lieu en 1931.
+
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council raised the issue of a ''“systematic practice of torture acts and ill treatments during arrest and detention.'' <ref>See note 53;</ref>
  
Le Maroc a, de plus, ratifié le Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques, la Convention relative aux droits de l'enfant, la Convention contre la torture, et signé le statut de la Cour pénale internationale.
+
In September 2012, following an eight-day visit, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Mendez, stated that he had received credible testimonies according to which inmates were subject to unjustified mental and physical pressures during interrogations. He noted in his report on these visits that the recourse to “torture acts and ill treatments during arrest and detention often occurred in case of threat to national security, terrorism or mass demonstrations”. <ref>Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 3: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>
  
Selon l'article 20 de la dernière Constitution de 2011 : « Le droit à la vie est le droit premier de tout être humain. La loi protège ce droit. ». Aussi pour Amina Bouayach, militante marocaine des droits de l'homme, cet article « est clair : la peine de mort ne devrait plus exister » au Maroc. Concernant la peine de mort et le droit à la vie, Mustapha Ramid (contre l'abolition de la peine de mort), d'obédience islamiste, tel qu'il s'est exprimé au Parlement marocain en tant que ministre de la Justice le 22 décembre 2014 : « le principe du droit à la vie ne serait nullement en contradiction avec la peine de mort, mais il est soumis à des règles et des conditions ».
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==Right to Counsel==
  
D. Le droit à un procès équitable
+
Regarding the right to counsel during police custody, Articles 73 and 74 of the CCP establish that the accused appearing before the prosecutor may designate an attorney to assist him throughout the questioning (the Criminal Chamber appoints once in case of obvious crime if the accused fails to.)<ref>See note 10, sections 73 and 74;</ref> The current CCP (articles 66 and 80) also introduced the possibility of access to counsel during questionings with Criminal Investigation Department officers. However, this right is quite limited: the accused may only contact an attorney after the first hour of the custody extension.<ref>Id., sections 66 and 80;</ref>
  
1. L’interdiction de détention provisoire excessive
+
An accused’s attorney may produce documents or written observations to the Criminal Investigation Department or to the State Prosecutor in order to add them to the report.  
  
Tel que mentionné précédemment, le Code de procédure civile prévoit en sa Section VII, article 153, qu’en matière de délit, lorsque le maximum de la peine prévue par la loi est inférieur à deux ans d'emprisonnement, l'inculpé domicilié au Maroc ne peut être détenu plus de dix jours après sa première comparution devant le juge d'instruction, s'il n'a pas été déjà condamné soit pour un crime, soit à un emprisonnement de plus de trois mois sans sursis pour délit de droit commun.
+
However, this right does not come without limitations: the accused may contact his attorney once only; the consultation may only last up to thirty minutes and is conducted under the watch of the police. Furthermore, the public prosecutor’s office needs to consent to it. <ref>World Organisation Against Torture, Evaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Convention contre la torture et autre peine ou traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant par le Maroc, November 2011, page 13, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec656002.html;</ref> These limitations take away this consultation’s main objective, i.e. to prevent abuse, such as the obtaining of confessions or information under duress, among other the ill treatments.
  
Dans les cas autres que ceux prévus à l'article précédent, l’article 154 prévoit que la détention préventive ne peut excéder deux mois. A l'expiration de ce délai, si le maintien en détention apparaît nécessaire, le juge d'instruction peut la prolonger par ordonnance spécialement motivée, rendue sur les réquisitions également motivées du procureur du Roi. Chaque prolongation ne peut être ordonnée pour une durée de plus de deux mois.
+
The law permits authorities to deny defendants’ access to counsel or family members during the initial 96 hours of detention under terrorism-related laws or during the initial 24 hours of detention for other charges, with an optional extension of 12 hours with the approval of the Prosecutor’s Office.<ref>Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 8: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>
  
Bien que les autorités gouvernementales affirment que les accusés étaient dans l'ensemble traduits en justice dans un délai de deux mois, les procureurs peuvent demander jusqu'à cinq fois la prolongation des deux mois de détention provisoire. La détention provisoire pouvait durer jusqu’à un an et il a été signalé que les autorités maintenaient régulièrement des prévenus en détention au-delà de la limite d'un an.
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==Right to Medical Care==
  
Les responsables gouvernementaux ont attribué ces retards à l’accumulation importante des dossiers pendants dans le système judiciaire. Le ministère des Affaires étrangères a déclaré que divers facteurs avaient contribué à cet engorgement : un manque de ressources consacrées au système judiciaire, tant humaines que d’infrastructure, l’absence de possibilités de négociation de plaidoyer pour les procureurs, l’allongement du temps nécessaire pour instruire les affaires en moyenne et le faible recours à la médiation et à d’autres dispositifs de résolution extrajudiciaire autorisés par la loi. Dans un rapport publié au cours de l’année, la Fédération internationale des droits de l'homme estimait qu’environ 50% des détenus étaient en détention provisoire. Dans certains cas, il est arrivé que la peine imposée au condamné soit plus courte que la période qu'il avait déjà passée en détention provisoire. Les ONG ont continué à signaler que plus de la moitié des mineurs incarcérés étaient en détention provisoire. Dans certains cas, les autorités détenaient ces mineurs jusqu'à huit mois avant leur procès.
+
Articles 73 and 74 of the CCP provide the accused with the right to request a doctor’s examination from the public prosecutor’s office.<ref>Id., sections 73 and 74;</ref> This crucial disposition is likely destined for a preventive role, considering that the examination may reveal violence traces. The members of the Criminal Investigation Department have to conduct their investigations in the strict respect of physical and moral integrity of the accused.
  
 +
The King’s prosecutor must order a medical examination as soon as an ill-treatment act is reported to him, or if he’s asked to investigate (article 74§8). Similarly, article 234§5 commands the investigation judge to order an immediate medical examination if there are signs of torture. In practice, medical examinations following reported cases of torture are rare and always late.<ref>World Organisation Against Torture, Evaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Convention contre la torture et autre peine ou traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant par le Maroc, November 2011, page 13, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec656002.html</ref> The examination may occur between the time of police questioning and the first appearance of the accused before the public prosecutor’s office.<ref>Id., section 234§5;</ref>
  
2. L’interdiction de la torture
+
==Right to a Fair Trial==
  
La Constitution et la loi marocaine interdisent le recours à la torture et les pouvoirs publics ont nié avoir eu recours à de telles pratiques. De nombreux récits crédibles concernant des traitements cruels, inhumains ou dégradants de prisonniers et de détenus, ont confirmé l'existence d’une « pratique courante de la torture et des mauvais traitements », particulièrement dans les cas liés à la sécurité nationale.
+
The right to a fair trial principle is stated in the Preamble of the 22-01 Legislation enacting the CCP, providing that ''“the statutory reform of the 1959 criminal procedure is centered on the necessity of guaranteeing a fair trial according to the international norms of the individuals’ rights on the one hand, and to preserve the public interest on the other.”'' <ref>Id., Preamble;</ref> 
  
Le Groupe de travail sur la détention arbitraire du Conseil des droits de l’homme (CDH) des Nations Unies a relevé « une pratique systématique des actes de torture et des mauvais traitements lors de l’arrestation et pendant la détention ».
+
==Right to Appeal==
 +
 +
The Moroccan appellate court structure consists of 21 Courts of Appeal.<ref>https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_marocain</ref> A Bureau of the National Mediator (Mediator Institution), created in March 2011, contributes to the dealing of civil cases when the judiciary cannot do so and it progressively extended the impact of its activities. In 2014, the Bureau received 9837 complaints, among which 79% did not pertain to its competence.<ref>http://fr.le360.ma/politique/un-rapport-accablant-de-linstitution-du-mediateur-contre-les-administrations-53987</ref> Thus, the Bureau processed 2078 letters of protest against the Judiciary and three quarters of these originated from individual.<ref>http://fr.le360.ma/politique/un-rapport-accablant-de-linstitution-du-mediateur-contre-les-administrations-53987</ref>
  
En septembre 2012, après une visite de huit jours, le Rapporteur spécial de l'ONU sur la torture, Juan E. Mendez, a déclaré qu'il avait reçu des témoignages crédibles selon lesquels « les détenus étaient soumis à des pressions mentales et physiques injustifiées lors d'interrogatoires ». Il a observé dans son rapport sur cette série de visites que le recours aux « actes de torture et aux mauvais traitements lors de l’arrestation et pendant la détention » se produisait souvent « en cas de menace perçue à la sécurité nationale, de terrorisme ou de manifestation de masse ».
+
==Right to an Impartial Judge==
  
3. Le droit à un avocat
+
The law prohibits judges to admit as evidence, confessions obtained under duress.<ref>Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 10: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref> However, in its August 4th Report of 2012, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that many accused were convicted of exclusively based on such confessions.<ref>Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 11: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref> Human Rights Watch and local NGOs have accused judges of making rulings based on forced confessions. Human Rights Watch pointed out that this frequently occurred in matters involving Sahrawi citizens or persons charged with terrorism. In its June 2013 Report on inquisitorial trials based on confessions, Human Rights Watch reached the conclusion that judges and the State Prosecutor constantly rejected complaints of abuse and ill-treatments by the police or refused to open investigations about it. <ref>Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 3: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>Because of the important shortage of medical, mortuary and psychiatric competences, it was practically impossible to gather credible evidence of ill-treatments likely to be admissible in Court.  
  
En ce qui concerne le droit à l’assistance d’un avocat pendant la garde à vue, les articles 73 et 74 du CPP établissent que le prévenu qui comparait devant le procureur peut désigner un avocat pour l’assister au cours de l’interrogatoire (la chambre criminelle le désigne en cas de crime flagrant si le prévenu ne le fait pas). L’actuel CPP (articles 66 et 80) a aussi introduit la possibilité de recourir à l’assistance d’un avocat lors des interrogatoires par les officiers de police judiciaire.  
+
On August 12, 2012, a Court convicted the left activist Wafae Charaf to a one-year imprisonment sentence and a fine, along with damages, for slander and deceitful allegation, following the complaint she filed after some strangers abducted and tortured her at the end of a workers demonstration in April in Tanger. Convicted on appeal on October 20 by this town’s court, Charaf’s sentence was doubled.<ref>https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/morocco-two-people-report-torture-get-imprisoned-slander</ref>
  
Les attributions reconnues à l'avocat sont loin d'être négligeables : il peut produire des documents ou des observations écrites à la police judiciaire ou au ministère public en vue de les joindre au procès verbal. Il peut de la sorte inciter l'une ou l'autre autorité à avoir sur le dossier une opinion plus équilibré et tenant compte de tous les éléments produits ou constatés.
+
A Casablanca Court also convicted Oussama Housne, member of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, to three years of imprisonment, a fine and money damages based on the same charges, after he mentioned having been abducted and tortured by strangers.<ref>https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/morocco-two-people-report-torture-get-imprisoned-slander</ref> The sentences in both cases might have a deterrent impact on people willing to press charges for abuse.
  
Toutefois ce droit ne vient pas sans limite: le prévenu ne peut contacter son avocat qu’une fois, l’entretien ne peut pas durer plus de 30 minutes et est conduit sous la surveillance de la police judiciaire. Par ailleurs, l’autorisation du parquet est nécessaire et ce droit ne nait qu’à partir de la première heure de la prolongation de la garde à vue. Ces limites enlèvent à cet entretien son intérêt principal qui est de prévenir les abus, y compris l’obtention d’aveux ou d’informations par la contrainte, notamment les mauvais traitements.
+
==International Instruments ratified==
  
4. Le droit à une expertise médicale
+
Morocco is a party to several United Nations Conventions: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (both signed in 1977 and ratified on May 3, 1979<ref>http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/morocco.html?L=1</ref>); the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (signed in 1967 and ratified in 1970); the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (signed in 1990 and ratified in 1993);  the Convention against Torture (signed in 1986 and ratified in 1993); the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (signed in 1991 and ratified in 1993).<ref>http://adfm.ma/spip.php?article386&lang=fr</ref>
  
Les articles 73 et 74 du CPP reconnaissent au prévenu le droit de demander au parquet à être examiné par un médecin. Cette importante disposition est probablement appelée à jouer un rôle préventif, sachant que l'examen en question peut révéler les traces de violence. Les membres de la police judiciaire seront conduits à mener leurs investigations dans le strict respect de l'intégrité physique et morale des prévenus.
+
=Rights in prison=
  
Le procureur du roi doit ordonner une expertise médicale dès qu’un acte de mauvais traitement est porté à sa connaissance ou qu’on lui demande d’enquêter (article 74 alinéa 8). Dans la même veine, l’article 234 alinéa 5 impose au juge d’instruction d’ordonner que soit procéder à l’examen médical immédiat de tout individu qui montrerait des signes de torture. En pratique, les examens médicaux suite à des cas dénoncés ou observés de torture sont rares et, à dessein, trop tardifs. L’expertise peut avoir lieu entre l’interrogatoire par la police et la première comparution du prévenu devant le parquet. Ces textes limitent la possibilité de demander une consultation médicale en cas d’infraction flagrante.
+
==Conditions of Confinement==
  
5. Le droit à un procès équitable
+
The prison population in Morocco reached 62.000 inmates in 2014.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref> According to several sources, the conditions of confinement are extremely tough, especially because of the great overpopulation (fail to meet international standards), an issue made even worse since judges often order pre-trial detention of the suspects. The Human Rights National Council (HRNC) urged the government to promote alternative sentences and indicated that the prison pollution reached 72.000 people in 2013, of which 42% are in pre-trial detention with an average of 18 square feet of space per inmate.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>  The HRNC is an organization financed by the State relying on the King.  
  
Tel qu’indiqué, ce principe se retrouve dans le préambule de la Loi 22-01 formant le Code de procédure pénale marocain, indiquant que « la réforme de la loi de la procédure pénale de 1959 s’est axée autour de la nécessité de garantir un procès équitable, selon les normes internationales des droits des individus, d’une part, et de préserver l’intérêt général et l’ordre public d’autre part ».  
+
The overpopulation leads to poor hygiene conditions and inadequate feeding of the inmates. People held in pre-trial detention and convicted inmates were often held together.. There was no information regarding the availability of drinking water.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>
  
6. Droit de recours
+
Several NGOs for human rights defense, including the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR) and a Parliamentary Commission- the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons- have continued reporting that prisons were overpopulated, likely to become violence areas and did not comply with the local and international norms. <ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>
  
Il existe des recours administratifs ainsi que judiciaires pour les préjudices présumés. Un bureau du médiateur national (l'Institution du Médiateur) contribue au règlement des affaires civiles lorsque l’appareil judiciaire ne parvient pas à le faire et il a progressivement étendu la portée de ses activités. En 2013, il a reçu 9 431 plaintes, dont 1 920 relevaient de sa compétence et ont fait l’objet d’enquêtes approfondies au Conseil National des Droits de l’Homme (CNDH). 43 affaires ayant trait spécifiquement à des accusations de violations des droits de l’homme que les autorités auraient commises ont d’ailleurs été soumises au CNDH.  
+
The inmates frequently resort to hunger strike in order to demander better confinement conditions or to protest against the length of pre-trial detention.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 7: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref> Most of the hunger strikes have stopped after a few days following the concessions made by the governmental and prison authorities.<ref>Id., see note 63, page 20, section 3.3;</ref>
 +
The penitentiary authorities used to serve three meals a day to inmates, but the quantities of food were insufficient and inmates would leave it up to their friends and family to bring them food on a regular basis.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>
  
7. Le droit à un juge impartial
+
==Right to medical care in prison==
  
La loi interdit aux juges d’admettre en preuve les aveux obtenus sous contrainte. Or, dans son rapport du 4 août, le Groupe de travail des Nations Unies sur la détention arbitraire a fait remarquer que beaucoup de personnes en détention étaient condamnées à des peines de prison uniquement sur la base d’aveux obtenus sous la contrainte. Human Rights Watch (HRW) et des ONG locales ont accusé les juges de statuer, à leur discrétion, en se fondant sur des aveux forcés. Les ONG ont fait valoir que cela se produisait fréquemment dans les affaires impliquant des Sahraouis ou des personnes accusées de terrorisme. Selon les autorités, les affirmations de la police sur les déclarations des détenus ont parfois été utilisées à la place des aveux des accusés lorsqu'ils étaient susceptibles d'avoir été obtenus sous la contrainte. Dans son rapport de juin 2013 sur les procès iniques fondés sur des aveux, HRW a conclu que les juges et le parquet rejetaient continuellement les plaintes pour abus et mauvais traitements de la part de la police ou refusaient d’ouvrir des enquêtes à ce sujet. En raison de la grave pénurie de compétences médicales, médico-légales et psychiatriques, il était pratiquement impossible de réunir des preuves crédibles sur les mauvais traitements susceptibles d'être admissibles devant les tribunaux.
+
According to the HRNC,<ref>Id., see note 71;</ref> penitentiary facilities did not provide detainees with enough access to medical care and did not meet the disabled prisoners’ needs, despite the fact that governmental sources claimed that each inmate benefited from 3-4 medical consults on average, with a health professional throughout the first seven months of the years.  
  
Le 12 août, un tribunal a condamné la militante de gauche Wafae Charaf à une peine d’un an de prison et à une amende, assortie de dommages et intérêts, pour calomnie et « allégation mensongère » de délit, à la suite d’une plainte qu’elle a déposée après que des hommes inconnus l’auraient enlevée et torturée à la fin d’une manifestation ouvrière au mois d’avril à Tanger. Jugée en appel le 20 octobre par le tribunal de cette ville, Charaf a vu sa peine de prison doublée.  
+
The authorities reported that 93 inmates, among which 83 were hospitalized, had died in prison in 2012. Local NGOs have been unable to confirm these numbers.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 7: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref> The governmental authorities acknowledged that it was complicated to provide adequate medical care in such overpopulation conditions.<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 7: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf</ref>
  
Un tribunal de Casablanca a aussi condamné un militant local à trois ans de prison, une amende et des dommage-intérêts, sur les mêmes chefs d’accusation, après qu’il a indiqué avoir été enlevé et torturé par des inconnus. Les peines dans ces deux cas pourraient avoir un effet dissuasif sur les personnes souhaitant déposer plainte pour des abus commis.
+
==Restriction of Prisoners’ Rights==
  
 +
In a 2012 Report, the CNDH indicated that it observed ''“the persistence of abuse towards inmates committed by the prison staff.”'' <ref>Id., see note 71;  There are 76 prisons in Morocco and 62775 inmates</ref>  The CNDH added that prison guards were hitting the inmates with sticks and pipes, hanging them on doors with handcuffs, inflict them with punches to the sole of the foot, forcing them to undress in front of other inmates, and using insults and malicious expressions towards them. The CNDH also noted that these abuses continued in most of the prisons,<ref>Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf;</ref> except those of Inezgane and Dakhla, ''“where only isolated cases were recorded.”'' <ref>Id., see note 71.</ref>  Several reports of NGOs and articles in the media have supported these observations with abuse and torture acts narratives and committed by public forces on persons under their watch, particularly during pre-trial detention.
  
E. Les droits de l’accusé en prison
 
  
1. Conditions d’emprisonnement
+
=Sources=
  
Pour rappel, la population carcérale au Maroc atteignait en 2012 les 65 000 détenus. Selon diverses sources, les conditions de vie dans les prisons seraient très dures, surtout en raison de la forte surpopulation, un problème aggravé du fait que les juges ont souvent recours à la détention provisoire des suspects. Le CNDH, qui a exhorté le gouvernement à promouvoir des peines alternatives, a indiqué que la population carcérale avait atteint 72 000 personnes en 2013, dont 42 % en détention préventive, avec une moyenne de 2 m2 d’espace par détenu. Le CNDH est un organisme financé par l'État qui dépend du roi.
+
<references/>
 
 
La surpopulation des prisons entraînait de mauvaises conditions d'hygiène et une alimentation inadéquate des détenus. En raison également de cette surpopulation, les personnes en détention provisoire et les prisonniers condamnés étaient souvent détenus ensemble, l’espace de cellule moyen étant de 1,7 m2 par personne. Il n’existait pas d’information concernant la disponibilité d'eau potable.
 
 
 
Une organisation regroupant des avocats qui militent pour de meilleures conditions de détention, des ONG de défense des droits de l'homme et une commission parlementaire, l'Observatoire marocain des prisons (OMP), ont continué à rapporter que les prisons étaient surpeuplées, susceptibles de devenir des foyers de violence, et qu'elles ne répondaient pas aux normes locales ni internationales.
 
 
 
Les prisonniers ont fréquemment eu recours à la grève de la faim pour revendiquer de meilleures conditions de détention ou protester contre la durée de la détention provisoire. La plupart de ces grèves de la faim se sont arrêtées au bout de quelques jours suite aux concessions consenties par les autorités gouvernementales ou carcérales. Les autorités pénitentiaires servaient trois repas par jour aux prisonniers, mais les quantités de nourriture étaient insuffisantes et les détenus devaient s’en remettre à leurs familles et amis qui leur apportaient régulièrement à manger.
 
 
 
2. Le droit à un examen médical
 
 
 
Selon le CNDH, les établissements pénitentiaires ne fournissaient pas un accès suffisant aux soins de santé et ne répondaient pas aux besoins des prisonniers handicapés, en dépit du fait que des sources gouvernementales affirmaient que chaque détenu avaient bénéficié en moyenne de 3,4 consultations avec un professionnel de la santé au cours des sept premiers mois de l’année.
 
Les autorités ont signalé que 93 détenus, parmi lesquels 83 avaient été hospitalisés, étaient décédés en prison pendant l’année. Les ONG locales de défense des droits de l'homme n'ont pas été en mesure de confirmer ces chiffres. Les autorités gouvernementales ont reconnu qu'il était difficile de fournir des soins adéquats dans de telles conditions de surpopulation.
 
 
 
3. Restriction des droits des prisonniers
 
 
 
Dans un rapport de 2012, le CNDH a indiqué qu’il avait observé « la persistance d’exactions à l’encontre des détenus commises par le personnel des prisons visitées ». Le CNDH a ajouté que les gardiens de prison leur portaient des coups avec des bâtons et des tuyaux, les suspendaient sur des portes à l’aide de menottes, leur administraient des coups sur la plante des pieds, les giflaient, les pinçaient à l’aide d’aiguilles, leur infligeaient des brûlures et des coups de pied, les forçaient à se déshabiller devant les autres prisonniers, et employaient des insultes et des expressions malveillantes à leur encontre. Le CNDH a également noté que ces abus perduraient dans la plupart des prisons, à l'exception de celles d'Inezgane et de Dakhla, « où seuls des cas isolés ont été constatés ». De nombreux compte-rendu d'ONG et articles dans les médias ont appuyé ces constatations avec des récits d'actes de torture et d'exactions commis par des membres des forces de l'ordre sur les personnes sous leur garde, en particulier durant la détention provisoire.
 
 
 
Sources
 
 
 
• http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b5104.html;
 
• http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=search&docid=4ec656002&skip=0&query=droit%20pénal&coi=MAR;
 
• https://french.morocco.usembassy.gov/fr/news/rapport-2014-sur-les-droits-de-lhomme---maroc.html
 

Latest revision as of 10:50, 24 April 2017

Globe3.png English  • français

General introduction

The Kingdom of Morocco is a country located in the western region of North Africa. Morocco’s political system is a constitutional monarchy. The country is a Member State of the United Nations, the Arab league, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the International Organization of La Francophonie and the Union for the Mediterranean.

In the last two decades (corresponding to the reign of King Hassan II and the arrival of his son, King Mohammed VI), Morocco made progress in the area of human rights especially by providing more protective laws for its citizens. Nevertheless, human rights abuses continue to occur in Morocco, such as acts of torture, social repression, violations of procedural guarantees and other setbacks.

In the area of human rights, the 1900s and 2000s witnessed the signature and ratification of many treaties and agreements concerning the protection of human rights, including the signature of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on September 8, 2000. Also during this period, the Moroccan Equity and Reconciliation Commission has embarked on a substantial reconciliation process with victims and families of disappeared people, through investigations on acts of misconducts and abuses committed by the State.[1]

Further steps have been taken by Morocco, such as the creation of the Advisory Council on Human Rights on April 20, 1990,[2] the release of a great number of political detainees, the reform of the Family Code that improved the status of women in Morocco,[3] the adoption of Law n°43-04 defining and criminalizing torture and the drafting of the new Constitution in July 2011.[4]

Despite those positive developments, the respect and protection of human rights in Morocco remain weak and the results remain mixed. In the face of challenges posed in the fight against terrorism, the social protests[5] and the status of the Sahara,[6] certain instances still deplore existing violations of fundamental rights.

More recently, following the Arab Spring, Morocco has witnessed the emergence of a new social movement called the Movement of February 20th, calling for more democracy and social justice.[7] Morocco has responded in a number of ways to the actions of this pacifist movement, namely with violent interventions causing deaths in the regions of Séfrou, Safi and Al Hoceima.[8] The police is also said to be involved in using citizens as counter-demonstrators to disrupt the exercise of the right to demonstrate peacefully.[9]

It is, however, important to note that the Movement of February 20th opened the door to important legislative reforms in Morocco, such as the revision and adoption of a new Constitution in July 2011 and the adoption of a new Penal Procedure Code.[10]

Also, in the last years (since 2012), Morocco has authorized access to United Nations bodies in charge of the protection of human rights to visit Morocco and the Western Sahara. Moreover, on May 29, 2014, Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at that time mentioned, after an official visit, Morocco’s “great strides towards the better promotion and protection of human rights” but also pointed out areas of concerns, notably the use of torture, some restrictions on freedom of expression and the necessity to adopt laws enforcing the legitimate rights set out by the 2011 Constitution.[11]

Finally, as in the past years, the United Nations Security Council renewed the peacekeeping mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (Resolution 690, 1991, of April 29 1991 [12]), but without broadening it to include the surveillance of human rights. Morocco is, for the time being, vehemently opposed to such surveillance.

Criminal procedure

The Penal Procedure Code (hereinafter “PPC”) includes all of Morocco’s relevant criminal procedure sections.[13] The PPC underwent an important reform in 2011 in an effort to integrate international norms and to better protect the rights of the accused. This objective has been laid out in the preamble of the PPC itself (French only):

“(…) la réforme de la loi de la procédure pénale de 1959 s’est axée autour de la nécessité de garantir un procès équitable, selon les normes internationales des droits des individus, d’une part, et de préserver l’intérêt général et l’ordre public d’autre part.”[14]

Morocco’s criminal procedure is divided into three phases: the inquiry phase, the pre-trial phase and the trial phase, which includes the enforcement of the sentence.

Each phrase has its own actor: the judiciary police is responsible for the inquiry phase, the royal prosecutor and the examining magistrate are more involved in the pre-trial phase and finally, the trial judges conduct the trial and the sentencing phase.

Inquiry phase

Moroccan judiciary police is in charge of the inquiry phase. It consists of receiving complaints and denunciations, record infringements and gathering evidence. As explained below, the judiciary police has increased powers in cases of crimes and acts that just occurred or are being committed. [15]

During the inquiry phase, the judiciary police is supervised by the royal prosecutor who has the authority to order measures infringing on the rights and freedoms of suspects, as explained below.

Seizures conducted for the purpose of the inquiry

In case of crimes or flagrant offences, the officers of the judiciary police may visit the home of any person who can be involved in the act or might detain information and can seize any pertinent object.[16] No authorization is necessary in those cases. However, if the seizure is carried during the preliminary inquiry of a non-flagrant act, the officers need to obtain the express authorization of the owner of the place where the seizure is occurring.[17]

In any case, the seizure needs to be conducted in the presence of the individual concerned or his or her designated representative. If the seizure is conducted at a fleeing individual’s home, the officers have to name two external persons to witness the search.[18] Unless otherwise stipulated, house searches cannot be conducted before 5 am and after 9 pm.[19]

Detention for the purpose of investigation

As part of the investigation, a police officer can detain a suspect of a crime or a serious offence (an offence punishable by imprisonment), for a maximum of 48 hours.[20] In cases of crimes and flagrant offences, any person necessary to the investigation can also be detained.[21] Before the expiration of the 48 hours detention, the individual detained has to be brought in front of the royal prosecutor who can then authorize in writing an extension of the detention for another 24 hours.[22]

Pre-trial phase

The pre-trial phase is obligatory in cases of crimes and optional in cases of offences.[23] During this phase, the examining magistrate will determine, at the request of the royal prosecutor, if there is enough evidence to bring the suspect to trial.[24]

During the pre-trial phase, the examining magistrate possesses broad investigation powers. As explained below, he can issue orders and warrants,[25] conduct pre-trial examinations of witnesses,[26] and conduct searches and seizures.[27]

Warrants

The examining magistrate can deliver three types of warrants: a notice to appear in court, a notice to bring the witness in and an arrest warrant.

The notice to appear summons the suspect to appear in front of the magistrate at the date and time indicated on the warrant.[28]

The notice to bring a suspect in gives the police the right to bring the suspect in front of an examining magistrate who then has to conduct an examination of that suspect, without any delay.[29] If the examination cannot be conducted immediately, the suspect is brought into detention for a maximum of 24 hours. If the examination does not take place in the 24 hour timeframe, the suspect is brought in front of the royal prosecutor who will order the magistrate to proceed immediately to the examination, failing which the suspect has to be released.[30] Section 142 of the PPC indicates that a suspect arrested under a notice to bring in who is detained for more than 24 hours without being examined is considered as illegally detained.

After the examination and if the alleged offence is a crime or an offence punishable by imprisonment, the suspect can then be send into preventive detention.[31] The conditions and limits of such detention are explained below.

Finally, an arrest warrant can be issued if the suspect is on the run or if he lives outside of Morocco and if the alleged offence is a crime or an offence punishable by imprisonment.[32] The examination of a suspect arrested has to be conducted in the 48 hours following his arrest, failing which he will be considered illegally detained. [33]

Examinations

The first examination of the suspect is conducted in front of an examining magistrate at the date and place indicated on the notice to appear. The magistrate has to inform the suspect of the facts alleged against him and of his right to remain silent. If the suspect wishes to make declarations, they will be recorded by the magistrate.[34]

During this initial examination the suspect can be assisted by a lawyer.[35] However, in the case of an emergency, such as a witness in danger of death or if there is evidence that is about to disappear, the examining magistrate has the right to immediately proceed to the suspect’s examination even in the absence of their lawyer.[36] At a later stage, however, the suspect cannot be heard or confronted in the absence of their lawyer unless they expressly gave up their right to a counsel.[37]

Finally, the examining magistrate can also call in any witness whose statements could be useful to the case and can examine them.[38] These statements take place away from the presence of the suspect.[39]

Seizures

Seizures conducted during the pre-trial phase are subject to the same conditions as the seizures conducted during the investigation phase.[40] Section 104 of the PPC does, however, specify that all documents and objects seized during the pre-trial phase must be identified and sealed. The seals can only be opened in the presence of the suspect and their lawyer.

The examining magistrate only maintains the seizures of the objects and documents necessary to the discovery of the truth and of those that, if disclosed, would undermine the ongoing investigation.

It is important to note that the pre-trial phase in Morocco is secret, written and conducted as an inquisition. The suspect has no opportunity to contest the evidence gathered against him during this phase. [41]

Finally, once the magistrate ends his investigation, he gives his recommendation to the public ministry in the form of an order indicating if there is enough evidence against the suspect to prosecute him, or not.[42]

Preventive custody

After their first appearance and examination the suspect can be release until trial or placed in preventive custody.[43]

A statutory release can be ordered by the examining magistrate on the advice of the royal prosecutor. The suspect has to inform the court of all his whereabouts, has to appear when required and can be asked to provide a personal guarantee. [44]

Preventive custody is an extreme measure.[45] A person suspected of committing an offence that carries a sentence of less than two years of imprisonment and that has never been convicted of a crime cannot be detained for more than ten days after their first appearance.[46] If a suspect has previously been convicted of a crime they can be detained for up to three months.[47] In all other cases the detention cannot exceed two months.[48]

Upon expiration of this period and if continued detention appears necessary, the magistrate may extent it with a reasoned order upon a reasoned request from the royal prosecutor. This extension cannot exceed an additional two months. [49]

The suspect or their lawyer can also ask the court for a provisional release at any time during the proceedings subject to the rules set out at sections 156 and 157 PPC.

End of the pre-trial phase

As indicated by section 196 PPC, at the end of the pre-trial phase, the examining magistrate can dismiss the charges if he considers that the facts do not represent a crime, an offence or a misdemeanor, if there is no sufficient evidence against the suspect or if the author of the crime remains unknown.

In such cases, all suspects detained are immediately released. The magistrate also decides on the return of the objects and documents seized.

If the examining magistrate considers that a crime, an offence or a misdemeanor has been committed, he submits the file to the competent court depending on the facts.[50] At this point, the suspect has a right to appeal in front of the criminal court of the charges against him. [51]

Trial

In Morocco, criminal trials are public unless the defendant asks for a private trial.[52] Criminal court is comprised of a president, two deciding judges, four jurors drawn from a public list, one representative of the Public Ministry and one court clerk. [53]

When a criminal case is ready for trial, it must be submitted to the criminal court for the next available session. The Criminal court holds a session every three months.

At trial, the evidence is presented and debated by both parties. The deciding judges can only base their decision on the evidence presented at trial and discussed orally in front of the court.[54]

The trial starts with the examination of the defendant, followed by the hearings of the witnesses and experts and finally the presentation of the exhibits.[55] In all cases, the defendant has the right to speak last.[56]

Decision

The final decision is rendered public and must indicate the statements of facts and law on which the decision is based, even in the case of an acquittal.[57]

Judgments of acquittal or stay of proceedings result in the immediate release of the defendant unless the detention is necessary for another case. Furthermore, no person acquitted or pardoned can be prosecuted later for the same facts (no double jeopardy).[58]

Sentences

There are three types of infractions in Morocco: crimes, offences or misdemeanors. The applicable sentence is the one existing at the time of the occurrence of the infraction, unless the current Criminal Code indicates a lighter sentence.[59]

Criminal acts in Morocco may be punishable by death, life imprisonment, imprisonment for 5 to 30 years, assigned residence and deprivation of some civil rights such as voting.[60]

Offences are punishable by imprisonment a period between less than one month and up to maximum 5 years, and/or a fine of maximum 1 200 dirhams. [61]

Misdemeanors are punishable by a maximum of 29 days of imprisonment and/or a fine of 30 to 1 200 dirhams.[62]

The detailed sentences applicable to each type of case can be found in Books 1 and II of the Moroccan Criminal Code.[63]

Rights of the Accused at All Times

Double jeopardy

As mentioned above, in Morocco, a defendant cannot be tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction.[64] The double jeopardy principle refers to the binding force of the res judicata, which is intended to protect the defendant’s individual liberties.

Legality principle

The legality principle is expressly provided in Article 3 of the Moroccan Criminal Law code, which specifies, “No crime can be committed, nor punishment imposed, without a pre-existing penal law.”[65] Furthermore the Article 4 provides that “one cannot face the imposition of criminal sanctions for acts or omissions that were not expressly provided, nor criminal at the time of their commission or omission.” [66]

Presumption of innocence

Morocco ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on May 3rd, 1979 and published it in the Official Bulletin dated May 21, 1980. This Covenant issues in its article 14 a series of procedural guarantees in favor of the individual charged with felony, including the presumption of innocence. However, the presumption of innocence is nowhere to be found in Moroccan law. Regarding the status of international Treaties in Morocco, no single constitutional provision mentions the automatic application of international conventions in Moroccan law. Moroccan judges remain very reluctant to base their decisions on international texts. [67]

Standards of proof and standards for conviction

Article 80 of the CCP provides that police officers, either ordered by the King’s prosecutor, or automatically, conduct preliminary inquiries. The Chief of the general public prosecutor’s office is in charge of supervising these operations.

Article 81 provides that house searches, house visitations and seizures of incriminating evidence may not be carried out without the consent of the person whose house it is. This consent must be written in the hand of the interested party; if he cannot write, this is mentioned in the report along with his consent.[68]

After its visit in Morocco and Western Sahara in December 2013, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has reached the conclusion that:

“ The Moroccan criminal system rests largely on confessions as the principal source of incriminating evidence. The complaints received by the Working Group show the use of torture by the State agents in order to obtain evidence or confession during the initial phase of interrogatories (…). The courts and prosecutors do not respect the obligation to automatically open an investigation when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the confessions were obtained by torture and abuse.” [69]

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has indicated that the authorities allowed it to get into the detention locations it requested, and to privately question the inmates of its choice.

Procedure with witnesses

The CCP provides in Section IV, article 109, that “the investigating judge may summon, through an agent of the forces of law and order, any person whose deposition seems useful to him. A copy of the summons is delivered to them. The witnesses may also be summoned by simple letter or through the administrative path; moreover they may appear voluntarily.” [70] Furthermore, article 111 provides that witnesses are to be heard separately and without the presence of the accused, by the investigating judge assisted by his clerk. A report of their statements is recorded.[71] Article 118 provides that the judge may call out the witness, confront him to other witnesses or the accused and conduct, with their assistance, any operations or reconstructions useful to the truth. [72]

Lastly, article 121 provides that when a witness does not appear and after a second summons addressed to him is not answered, the Investigating judge on request of the King’s prosecutor can, either by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or by summon notified by an agent of the Notifications Office, compel him to appear by public forces and sentence him to a 1.000 to 20.000 francs fine.[73] This sentence is pronounced by an order that may not be appealed. Nonetheless, if he appears later on, the witness may, on production of his apologies and justification, be released of the fine in whole or in part by the investigating judge, after requisitions by the King’s prosecutor.

Capital Punishment

The death penalty has always existed in Morocco. The Moroccan Criminal Code provides for the death penalty by shooting for: aggravated homicide, torture, armed robbery, criminal fire, treason, desertion, including certain types of attacks against the King or any member of his family (in the strict sense, as defined by the Criminal Code). Between 1956 and 1993, 198 people have been both sentenced to death and executed. However, since 1993, none of the people that were sentenced to death have been executed.[74]

According to Article 20 of the last Constitution of 2011: “The right to life is the first right of any human being. The law protects this right.” [75] Thus, Amina Bouayach, Moroccan activist for human rights, suggests that this article clearly means that the death penalty should no longer exist in Morocco.[76] However, on December 22, 2017, Mustapha Ramid, Moroccan Minister of Justice, addressed the Moroccan Parliament and said the principle of the right to life was by no means in contradiction with the death penalty, but subject to rules and conditions.[77]

Fair Trial Rights

Freedom from Prolonged Pre-trial Detention

The CCP provides in its Section VII, article 153, as regards to torts, when the maximum statutory sentence is less than two years of imprisonment an accused residing in Morocco may not be held in detention for more than ten days after his first appearance before the investigating judge if he has not already been convicted for a crime, or for over three months from for a common law offense.[78] The code does not provide the alternative detention duration for non-residents.

In the other cases than those provided by the previous article, article 154 provides that pre-trial detention may not exceed two months. After expiration of the deadline, if maintenance in detention appears necessary, the investigation judge may extend it by order especially motivated, rendered on request motivated by the King’s prosecutor. Prosecutors may request as many as five additional two-month extensions of pretrial detention.[79] Prosecutors may request up to five two-month extensions for pre-trial detention, up to a maximum of one year. However, it has been reported that the authorities regularly keep defendants in custody beyond the one-year limitation.[80]

The governmental officials allocated these delays to the important accumulation of pending files and the large backlog of cases in the justice system.[81] The Foreign Secretary stated that several factors contributed to this congestion: a lack of resources devoted to the justice system, human as well as infrastructural; the absence of negotiation possibilities for defence and for the prosecutors; the lengthening of the necessary time to instruct cases on average and; the weak recourse to other devices of extrajudicial resolution sanctioned by the law, such as mediation and arbitration. In a report published in 2012, the International Federation for Human Rights estimated that around 50% of the inmates were in pre-trial detention. In some cases, the sentence imposed to the convict was shorter than the amount of time spent in pre-trial detention. The Moroccan Organization for Human Rights kept reporting that over half of the minors incarcerated were in pre-trial detention. Sometimes, the authorities even held the minors up to eight months before their actual trial.[82]

Freedom from Punishment

The Moroccan Constitution and Law prohibit the use of torture and the public authorities deny any such practices (Article 22 of the Constitution and article 231-1 of the Criminal Code).[83] Several credible narratives regarding cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments against prisoners and inmates confirmed the existence of a “common practice of torture and ill treatments, particularly in cases in connection to national security.” [84]

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council raised the issue of a “systematic practice of torture acts and ill treatments during arrest and detention.” [85]

In September 2012, following an eight-day visit, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Mendez, stated that he had received credible testimonies according to which inmates were subject to unjustified mental and physical pressures during interrogations. He noted in his report on these visits that the recourse to “torture acts and ill treatments during arrest and detention often occurred in case of threat to national security, terrorism or mass demonstrations”. [86]

Right to Counsel

Regarding the right to counsel during police custody, Articles 73 and 74 of the CCP establish that the accused appearing before the prosecutor may designate an attorney to assist him throughout the questioning (the Criminal Chamber appoints once in case of obvious crime if the accused fails to.)[87] The current CCP (articles 66 and 80) also introduced the possibility of access to counsel during questionings with Criminal Investigation Department officers. However, this right is quite limited: the accused may only contact an attorney after the first hour of the custody extension.[88]

An accused’s attorney may produce documents or written observations to the Criminal Investigation Department or to the State Prosecutor in order to add them to the report.

However, this right does not come without limitations: the accused may contact his attorney once only; the consultation may only last up to thirty minutes and is conducted under the watch of the police. Furthermore, the public prosecutor’s office needs to consent to it. [89] These limitations take away this consultation’s main objective, i.e. to prevent abuse, such as the obtaining of confessions or information under duress, among other the ill treatments.

The law permits authorities to deny defendants’ access to counsel or family members during the initial 96 hours of detention under terrorism-related laws or during the initial 24 hours of detention for other charges, with an optional extension of 12 hours with the approval of the Prosecutor’s Office.[90]

Right to Medical Care

Articles 73 and 74 of the CCP provide the accused with the right to request a doctor’s examination from the public prosecutor’s office.[91] This crucial disposition is likely destined for a preventive role, considering that the examination may reveal violence traces. The members of the Criminal Investigation Department have to conduct their investigations in the strict respect of physical and moral integrity of the accused.

The King’s prosecutor must order a medical examination as soon as an ill-treatment act is reported to him, or if he’s asked to investigate (article 74§8). Similarly, article 234§5 commands the investigation judge to order an immediate medical examination if there are signs of torture. In practice, medical examinations following reported cases of torture are rare and always late.[92] The examination may occur between the time of police questioning and the first appearance of the accused before the public prosecutor’s office.[93]

Right to a Fair Trial

The right to a fair trial principle is stated in the Preamble of the 22-01 Legislation enacting the CCP, providing that “the statutory reform of the 1959 criminal procedure is centered on the necessity of guaranteeing a fair trial according to the international norms of the individuals’ rights on the one hand, and to preserve the public interest on the other.” [94] 

Right to Appeal

The Moroccan appellate court structure consists of 21 Courts of Appeal.[95] A Bureau of the National Mediator (Mediator Institution), created in March 2011, contributes to the dealing of civil cases when the judiciary cannot do so and it progressively extended the impact of its activities. In 2014, the Bureau received 9837 complaints, among which 79% did not pertain to its competence.[96] Thus, the Bureau processed 2078 letters of protest against the Judiciary and three quarters of these originated from individual.[97]

Right to an Impartial Judge

The law prohibits judges to admit as evidence, confessions obtained under duress.[98] However, in its August 4th Report of 2012, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention noted that many accused were convicted of exclusively based on such confessions.[99] Human Rights Watch and local NGOs have accused judges of making rulings based on forced confessions. Human Rights Watch pointed out that this frequently occurred in matters involving Sahrawi citizens or persons charged with terrorism. In its June 2013 Report on inquisitorial trials based on confessions, Human Rights Watch reached the conclusion that judges and the State Prosecutor constantly rejected complaints of abuse and ill-treatments by the police or refused to open investigations about it. [100]Because of the important shortage of medical, mortuary and psychiatric competences, it was practically impossible to gather credible evidence of ill-treatments likely to be admissible in Court.

On August 12, 2012, a Court convicted the left activist Wafae Charaf to a one-year imprisonment sentence and a fine, along with damages, for slander and deceitful allegation, following the complaint she filed after some strangers abducted and tortured her at the end of a workers demonstration in April in Tanger. Convicted on appeal on October 20 by this town’s court, Charaf’s sentence was doubled.[101]

A Casablanca Court also convicted Oussama Housne, member of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, to three years of imprisonment, a fine and money damages based on the same charges, after he mentioned having been abducted and tortured by strangers.[102] The sentences in both cases might have a deterrent impact on people willing to press charges for abuse.

International Instruments ratified

Morocco is a party to several United Nations Conventions: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (both signed in 1977 and ratified on May 3, 1979[103]); the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (signed in 1967 and ratified in 1970); the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (signed in 1990 and ratified in 1993); the Convention against Torture (signed in 1986 and ratified in 1993); the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (signed in 1991 and ratified in 1993).[104]

Rights in prison

Conditions of Confinement

The prison population in Morocco reached 62.000 inmates in 2014.[105] According to several sources, the conditions of confinement are extremely tough, especially because of the great overpopulation (fail to meet international standards), an issue made even worse since judges often order pre-trial detention of the suspects. The Human Rights National Council (HRNC) urged the government to promote alternative sentences and indicated that the prison pollution reached 72.000 people in 2013, of which 42% are in pre-trial detention with an average of 18 square feet of space per inmate.[106] The HRNC is an organization financed by the State relying on the King.

The overpopulation leads to poor hygiene conditions and inadequate feeding of the inmates. People held in pre-trial detention and convicted inmates were often held together.. There was no information regarding the availability of drinking water.[107]

Several NGOs for human rights defense, including the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights (MOHR) and a Parliamentary Commission- the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons- have continued reporting that prisons were overpopulated, likely to become violence areas and did not comply with the local and international norms. [108]

The inmates frequently resort to hunger strike in order to demander better confinement conditions or to protest against the length of pre-trial detention.[109] Most of the hunger strikes have stopped after a few days following the concessions made by the governmental and prison authorities.[110] The penitentiary authorities used to serve three meals a day to inmates, but the quantities of food were insufficient and inmates would leave it up to their friends and family to bring them food on a regular basis.[111]

Right to medical care in prison

According to the HRNC,[112] penitentiary facilities did not provide detainees with enough access to medical care and did not meet the disabled prisoners’ needs, despite the fact that governmental sources claimed that each inmate benefited from 3-4 medical consults on average, with a health professional throughout the first seven months of the years.

The authorities reported that 93 inmates, among which 83 were hospitalized, had died in prison in 2012. Local NGOs have been unable to confirm these numbers.[113] The governmental authorities acknowledged that it was complicated to provide adequate medical care in such overpopulation conditions.[114]

Restriction of Prisoners’ Rights

In a 2012 Report, the CNDH indicated that it observed “the persistence of abuse towards inmates committed by the prison staff.” [115] The CNDH added that prison guards were hitting the inmates with sticks and pipes, hanging them on doors with handcuffs, inflict them with punches to the sole of the foot, forcing them to undress in front of other inmates, and using insults and malicious expressions towards them. The CNDH also noted that these abuses continued in most of the prisons,[116] except those of Inezgane and Dakhla, “where only isolated cases were recorded.” [117] Several reports of NGOs and articles in the media have supported these observations with abuse and torture acts narratives and committed by public forces on persons under their watch, particularly during pre-trial detention.


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  14. Id.: “the reform of the 1959 Code revolves around the necessity of guaranteeing fair trials in accordance with international law on one hand, and on the other to preserve public order.”
  15. Id., see definition of flagrant offences at section 58;
  16. Id., section 61;
  17. Id., section 81;
  18. Id., section 62;
  19. Id., section 64;
  20. Id., sections 68 and 82;
  21. Id., section 68;
  22. Id., sections 68 and 82;
  23. Id., section 84; Crimes, such as murder in the first degree, are considered the most serious violations of the law while offences, such as obscenity, are infractions of lesser importance, see Maroc: Code Pénal, 26 November 1962, consolidated version of September 15, 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54294d164.html, section 7;
  24. Id., section 85;
  25. Id., sections 135 and following;
  26. Id., sections 109 and following;
  27. Id., section 86;
  28. Id., section 137;
  29. Id., section 139;
  30. Id., section 140;
  31. Id., section 146;
  32. Id., section 147;
  33. Id., section 149;
  34. Id., sections 127 and 128;
  35. Id., section 127;
  36. Id., section 128;
  37. Id., section 132;
  38. Id., section 109;
  39. Id., section 111;
  40. Id., sections 62 and 64;
  41. Id., section 15;
  42. Id., sections 197 and 200;
  43. Id., section 155;
  44. Id., section 155;
  45. Id., section 152;
  46. Id., section 153;
  47. Id
  48. Id., section 154;
  49. Id., section 154;
  50. Id., sections 197 and 200;
  51. Id., section 206;
  52. Id., section 301;
  53. Id., sections 437 and 438;
  54. Id., section 289;
  55. Id., section 305;
  56. Id., section 306;
  57. Id., sections 346 and 348;
  58. Id., section 351;
  59. Maroc: Code Pénal, 26 November 1962, consolidated version of September 15, 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54294d164.html, section 7;
  60. Id., sections 16 and 26;
  61. Id., section 17;
  62. Id., section 18;
  63. Id
  64. Id., see Note 10, section 351;
  65. Id., see Note 59, section 3;
  66. Id., section 4;
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  68. Id., section 81;
  69. Report of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention- Mission to Morocco: Page 10, Section C: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjLq_-I17TSAhUD7GMKHS35C8YQFggaMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohchr.org%2FEN%2FHRBodies%2FHRC%2FRegularSessions%2FSession27%2FDocuments%2FA-HRC-27-48-Add5_en.doc&usg=AFQjCNGlLmX6rFTINqIGGCQinPdO383hpQ&sig2=hymcY5EyoJP8yxkhWjsTrQ&bvm=bv.148441817,d.cGw;
  70. See note 10, section 109;
  71. Id., section 111;
  72. Id., section 118;
  73. Id., section 121;
  74. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peine_de_mort_au_Maroc
  75. http://www.amb-maroc.fr/constitution/Nouvelle_Constitution_%20Maroc2011.pdf
  76. http://www.libe.ma/Amina-Bouayach-vice-presidente-de-la-FIDH-La-communaute-internationale-jugera-le-gouvernement-sur-son-respect-ou-non_a30069.html;
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  78. See note 10, section 153;
  79. Id., section 154;
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  81. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 9: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  82. See note 58, page 13, section E;
  83. Maroc: Code Pénal, 26 November 1962, consolidated version of September 15, 2001, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/54294d164.html, section 231-1. Moroccan Constitution, 2011 version available at: http://www.amb-maroc.fr/constitution/Nouvelle_Constitution_%20Maroc2011.pdf
  84. Comité Marocain contre la torture, page 20, section 3.3: http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=search&docid=4ec656002&skip=0&query=droit%20pénal&coi=MAR;
  85. See note 53;
  86. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 3: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  87. See note 10, sections 73 and 74;
  88. Id., sections 66 and 80;
  89. World Organisation Against Torture, Evaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Convention contre la torture et autre peine ou traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant par le Maroc, November 2011, page 13, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec656002.html;
  90. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 8: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  91. Id., sections 73 and 74;
  92. World Organisation Against Torture, Evaluation de la mise en oeuvre de la Convention contre la torture et autre peine ou traitement cruel, inhumain ou dégradant par le Maroc, November 2011, page 13, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec656002.html
  93. Id., section 234§5;
  94. Id., Preamble;
  95. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droit_marocain
  96. http://fr.le360.ma/politique/un-rapport-accablant-de-linstitution-du-mediateur-contre-les-administrations-53987
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  98. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 10: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
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  100. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, page 3: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  101. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/morocco-two-people-report-torture-get-imprisoned-slander
  102. https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/morocco-two-people-report-torture-get-imprisoned-slander
  103. http://www.claiminghumanrights.org/morocco.html?L=1
  104. http://adfm.ma/spip.php?article386&lang=fr
  105. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  106. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  107. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  108. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  109. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 7: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  110. Id., see note 63, page 20, section 3.3;
  111. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  112. Id., see note 71;
  113. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 7: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  114. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 7: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf
  115. Id., see note 71; There are 76 prisons in Morocco and 62775 inmates
  116. Morocco 2014 Human Rights Report, page 5: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/236826.pdf;
  117. Id., see note 71.