Amnesty International Report 2000 - Morocco/Western Sahara

Head of state: King Mohammed VI (replaced King Hassan II in July)
Head of government: Abderrahmane Youssoufi
Capital: Rabat
Population: 27.2 million
Official language: Arabic
Death penalty: retentionist

An arbitration body to decide on compensation for the victims of "disappearance" and arbitrary detention and their families was established in August; more than 3,900 people had submitted their claims by the deadline of 31 December. However, the authorities failed to clarify the fate of some 450 "disappeared", most of them Sahrawis, or to acknowledge the deaths of some 70 Sahrawi "disappeared" in secret detention between the 1970s and early 1990s. Left-wing critic Abraham Serfaty, in forcible exile since 1991, was allowed to return to Morocco. More than 40 political prisoners imprisoned after unfair trials in previous years and at least five prisoners of conscience continued to be detained. Demonstrations in Western Sahara in September were brutally suppressed and were followed by arrests and allegations of torture. Dozens of people were sentenced to terms of imprisonment following trials which failed to conform to international standards for fair trial. Steps were taken to begin the process of judicial reform. However, impunity remained a major concern, with perpetrators of human rights abuses continuing to escape prosecution.

Background

King Hassan II, in power since 1961, died in July and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed VI. Following his enthronement, King Mohammed VI spoke about the importance of human rights, including women's rights. In November he replaced Interior Minister Driss Basri, who had held this position since 1979, and other security officials. The UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) announced in July that it had registered some 84,000 of the 147,000 people who had applied to vote in a referendum on whether Western Sahara should be independent or should be integrated into Morocco. However, in November it was announced that the referendum, subject to many delays and most recently scheduled for July 2000, would have to be postponed once again in order to process the tens of thousands of appeals lodged by people excluded from the register of electors. In August the Moroccan authorities withdrew permission for AI to hold its International Council Meeting in Rabat. No official explanation was given for this decision, although AI received different and sometimes contradictory messages from various Moroccan authorities.

'Disappearances'

In April the Conseil consultatif des droits de l'homme (CCDH), Human Rights Advisory Council, set up by King Hassan II in 1990, proposed that an arbitration body be established to decide on compensation claims. However, under this proposal the only claims which would be considered were those connected with some of the individuals mentioned in a list of 112 "disappearance" cases published by the CCDH in October 1998.

In August King Mohammed VI ordered the establishment of an arbitration commission to decide on compensation for material and psychological damage suffered by the victims of "disappearance" and arbitrary detention and their families. The commission began its work on 1 September and claimants were required to submit their applications for compensation by 31 December. The commission's internal regulations stated clearly that its decisions were final and admitted no recourse to appeal. At the end of the year the commission announced that it had received more than 3,900 applications and that it had "been able to examine... several dossiers and had completed the examination of a few of these".

The families of the 56 "disappeared" whose deaths had been officially announced by the CCDH in October 1998 received no further information about the date, place or cause of the deaths. By the end of the year the families had not received the bodies for burial nor been told where the bodies were.

By the end of 1999, the fate of some 450 people, the majority of them Sahrawis, who "disappeared" between the mid-1960s and early 1990s, had not been clarified. The deaths between 1976 and 1991 of some 70 Sahrawi "disappeared" in the secret detention centres of Agdz, Qal'at M'gouna and Laayoune had not been acknowledged by the authorities nor had their bodies been returned to their families for burial.

Violent suppression of demonstrations

Non-violent demonstrations continued to be dispersed with excessive force by the security forces, particularly in the form of beatings. As in previous years, it was protesters in Western Sahara who were most seriously affected. Although journalists enjoyed improved access to the territory in 1999, the human rights situation there continued to lag a long way behind that in Morocco itself, particularly with regard to freedom of expression and association.

• In September, a peaceful sit-in for socio-economic demands by Sahrawi students, sacked workers and people with disabilities in Laayoune, Western Sahara, was violently broken up by the security forces, as was a march held several days later to protest at the brutal manner in which the sit-in had been dispersed. Dozens of Sahrawis were severely beaten, and many sustained serious injuries, including broken bones. Dozens were arrested and there were reports of torture and ill-treatment in custody.

Unfair trials

Dozens of people were sentenced to prison terms of up to 15 years following trials which failed to conform to international standards for fair trial. These included protesters arrested following demonstrations in Laayoune, Western Sahara, in September and trade unionists arrested while on strike. Allegations that dozens of them had been tortured in detention were not investigated by the courts during the trials.

Prisoners of conscience and political prisoners

More than 40 political prisoners imprisoned after unfair trials in previous years continued to be detained. They included members of Islamist groups sentenced in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and Sahrawis arrested following pro-independence demonstrations in 1998. At least three prisoners of conscience sentenced to up to five years' imprisonment for "insulting the royal family" remained in prison at the end of 1999.

• Prisoner of conscience 'Abdessalam Yassine, the spiritual leader of the banned Islamist association al-'Adl wa'l 'Ihsan, Justice and Charity, remained under administratively imposed house arrest for the 10th consecutive year. By the end of 1999, neither he nor his lawyer had been shown an order permitting his detention, nor had they been informed of the charges or alleged offence.

Impunity

Investigations were opened into several allegations of torture and ill-treatment and into deaths in custody and in suspicious circumstances which occurred in 1999 and previous years. In several cases, members of the security forces implicated in the violations were arrested and prosecuted, including a police officer who was convicted of torture and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. However, in the majority of cases, investigations were either not opened into complaints and allegations of torture and ill-treatment or of deaths in custody and in suspicious circumstances, or were opened but dismissed without adequate investigation. In no case were investigations known to have been carried out to establish responsibility for grave and systematic human rights violations which occurred in the past, and the perpetrators, including those who carried out gross violations over long periods of time, were not brought to justice.

Polisario camps

Freedom of expression, association and movement continued to be restricted in the camps controlled by the Frente Popular para la Liberación de Saguia el-Hamra y Rio de Oro, Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra y Rio de Oro (known as the Polisario Front), near Tindouf in southwestern Algeria. Those responsible for human rights abuses in the camps in previous years continued to enjoy impunity. The Polisario authorities failed to hand over perpetrators still resident in the camps to the Algerian authorities to be brought to justice and the Moroccan authorities failed to bring to justice the perpetrators of abuses in the Polisario camps present on its territory.

International standards

The UN Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee considered periodic reports on Morocco during the year. Both recognized the positive steps taken by the Moroccan government in the field of human rights. However, in its concluding observations in November, the Human Rights Committee urged Morocco "to intensify investigations into the whereabouts of all persons reportedly missing, to release any such persons who may still be held in detention, to provide lists of prisoners of war to independent observers, to inform families about the location of the graves of disappeared persons known to be dead, to prosecute the persons responsible for the disappearances or deaths, and to provide compensation to victims or their families where rights have been violated."

Communications with the government

In response to its report Morocco/Western Sahara: 'Turning the page' – achievements and obstacles, AI received two documents, one from the Moroccan Human Rights Ministry and the other from the CCDH. Both documents commented on cases of torture and ill-treatment and of prisoners of conscience raised in AI's report, addressed aspects of the issue of "disappearance", and outlined proposals for judicial and penal reforms. The Human Rights Ministry and the CCDH argued that AI had not sufficiently recognized the improvements in the human rights situation in the country and took a position on the territorial dispute about the status of Western Sahara. In order to acknowledge and remark on these responses, AI published an addendum to the report.

AI country reports and visits

Reports

• Morocco/Western Sahara: 'Turning the page' – achievements and obstacles (AI Index: MDE 29/001/99)
• Morocco/Western Sahara: Addendum to 'Turning the page' – achievements and obstacles (AI Index: MDE 29/005/99)

Visits

In March and June AI delegates visited Morocco and met government and other officials, victims of human rights violations, representatives of human rights organizations and other members of civil society.