CCDH ANNUAL REPORT 2009: PHYSICAL SAFETY AND ILL-TREATMENT TOPS COMPLAINTS FALLING WITHIN CCDH’S PROTECTIVE SCOPE

Number of complaints submitted to the Council about violations increased in 2009, if compared to the last three years.

The Advisory Council on Human Rights received in 2009 a total of 181 complaints falling within its protective sco. These complaints were relative, namely, to: abduction or disappearance (29 complaints), torture during detention (2 complaints), physical safety and ill-treatment (102 complaints), shooting by public forces (2 complaints), right to a healthy environment (5 complaints), freedom of movement (3 complaints), denial of access to administrative documents (24 complaints), right of association (2 complaints), right to organize (2 complaints), abuse of power (9 complaints), and prevention from candidacy for election of administrative committees (one complaint).
The above mentioned statistics underline the increase of the number of complaints relating to physical safety and ill-treatment, compared with other types of complaints, as shown in the following chart:

85% of the complaints, that fall within the Council’ protective scope, are related to physical safety, ill-treatment, denial of access to administrative documents and abduction and disappearances constitute. However, it must be underlined that this year (2009) witnessed no death case, while year 2008 witnessed two.
The number of submitted complaints relative to prisons reached a total of 895, significantly increasing (+ 231 complaints) if compared to 2008.

Although it is possible for any prisoner to submit his/her request, even seeking pardon, from within the prison institution, to the competent authorities, the Council still receives formal complaints and requests from prisoners. Perhaps the reason is due to the quality of the relation between the prisoner and the prison institution, on the one hand, and the fact that a lot of prisoners believe that the Council is a competent authority in such matter, on the other. The Council completed a report on prison conditions and made several visits in 2009 to prisons in Morocco. That’s what make prisoners believe that submitting their requests to the Council would ensure that they will reach the competent authorities.
In this context, the Council received requests relative to: pardon (306 requests), transfer to other prisons in order to be close to one’s family (118 request), health treatment (23 requests), exceptional permissions (2 requests), carry out studies or training (2 requests), stay at the same prison institution (16 requests), torture or ill-treatment in prison (19 complaints), judicial rulings (139 complaint), custodial situation (128 complaints), classification (115 requests), restricted release (2 requests), certificate of indigence (one request), exceptional procedures (one request), miscellaneous (23 requests).
90% of complaints received from prisoners or their families are related to transfer to other prisons, judicial rulings, prison conditions and pardon.

The Council treated these complaints and referred them to the competent authorities. However, it received only thirty responses: transfer to other prisons (5 responses), health treatment (16 responses) carry out study or vocational training (two responses), staying at the same prison institution (3 responses), torture and ill-treatment (3 responses), and miscellaneous (one response).

In 2009, CCDH committees visited the prisons of Marrakech, Ben Jarir and Laayoune. After these visits, which enabled the identification of conditions within these prisons, these committees prepared reports and sent correspondences to the General Delegation of Penitentiary Administration and Reinsertion about the issue of overcrowding and the spread and easy transmission of some diseases due to the decline of hygiene and poor medical care, as well as shortage of educational and cultural activities.

In 2009, the Council also received 104 requests from disabled people, relative to assistance and access to some specific tools.