URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA
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21 July 2010
UA 164/10 Medical concern/Torture
MOROCCO
Abdalla Balla (m)
Bouali M’naouar (m)
Hicham el-Hawari (m)
Izaddine Sleimani (m)
Hicham Sabbah (m)
Tarek Mahla (m)
Seven men arrested on 28 June in the Moroccan city of Fes are in urgent need of medical treatment. All seven are reported to have been tortured, and at least five of them are alleged to have been raped. They have received no treatment for their injuries. Two of them have chronic health problems for which they need medication and treatment, but this too has been denied them. All seven may face charges on the basis of statements they say they were forced to sign under torture.
Mohamed Sleimani, Abdalla Balla, Bouali M’naouar, Hicham el-Hawari, Izaddine Sleimani, Hicham Sabbah and Tarek Mahla, are currently detained in Ain el-Qadous Prison in Fes. All members of Al-Adl wal-Ihsan, a legally authorized Islamist group, they are alleged to have abducted and tortured a former member of the group and were referred to an investigative judge on 1 July on charges of “belonging to an unauthorized association”, “forming a criminal gang”, “abduction and detention of an individual” and “torture”.
The seven were arrested on 28 June in Fes by the National Brigade of Judicial Police (Brigade Nationale de la Police Judiciare, BNPJ). They were taken to the BNPJ's detention center in Casablanca and held in separate cells for 72 hours during which they say they were kept naked, handcuffed and blindfolded, denied food and given very little water. All seven allege that they were tortured including, in at least five cases, by rape with pens and other objects being forced into their anuses. They allege that they were forced to sign statements which they were not allowed to read, under threat that they would be thrown from a window if they refused to do so. The detainees were seen by their families for the first time after their arrest on 5 July, when their relatives noted that they showed signs of torture and other ill-treatment. According to their relatives, the detainees were experiencing difficulties with their sight and hearing and had bruises and other visible marks apparently caused by torture. Those who are alleged to have been raped were bleeding as a result. The detainees were examined by a doctor for the first time only on 12 July; and were apparently not provided with treatment for their injuries. This medical examination, the results of which have yet to be disclosed by the Moroccan authorities, had been ordered by the judge investigating their case after they complained that they had been tortured when they appeared before him on 1 July. In addition, Mohamed Sleimani has a serious heart condition, and Abdalla Balla has diabetes. Both men need daily medication and access to regular medical check-ups. They have not received either of these in detention.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The seven men were arrested after the General Crown Prosecutor of the Fes appeal court ordered the BNPJ to investigate allegations made against them. However, the BNPJ officers who arrested them did not produce warrants for their arrest, as required under Moroccan law, and searched their homes of the men at around 5am in breach of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that such searches should be conducted during the daytime. The detainees and their families allege that BNPJ officers assaulted and insulted them during the house searches and at the time of arrest.
The seven say that they were detained incommunicado and without access to lawyers or their families from the time of their arrest on 28 June until 1 July and that they were tortured by BNPJ officers in this period using the chiffon method (in which the victim is forced to swallow dirty water, chemicals or urine through a dirty cloth placed over the mouth, causing a drowning sensation); the tayara method (in which the victim is tied by their hands and legs to a metal stick and then hung upside down); by being subjected to falaqa , (beating with sticks on the soles of the feet); the application of electric shocks to the genitals and other sensitive parts of the body; and in at least five cases by being raped by having pens or other objects forced into their anus. Those administering the torture are said to have taken what steps they could, using clothing and cream, to minimize the signs of injury on the detainees’ bodies.
The seven men’s families and lawyers were not informed of their whereabouts during the days that they were held at the BNPJ detention center in Casablanca.
Amnesty International has urged the Moroccan authorities to establish a prompt, independent investigation into the all allegations of torture or other ill-treatment in this case, and to ensure that no statements extracted under torture or duress from the seven are used as evidence against them in future legal proceedings.
The Moroccan authorities have an obligation to ensure that detainees are treated in accordance with international law and standards, as set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), treaties to which Morocco is a state party, as well as the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment. In particular, detainees should be granted adequate access to medical care and have the right to seek a medical examination by a doctor of their choice.
Morocco’s Minister of Communications was recently reported by Al-Qods Press Agency to have referred to Al-Adl wal-Ihsan as “a committee that does not have any legal status” whereas, in practice, the group obtained legal registration following a decision by the Court of Appeal in 1990. The action taken against the seven may reflect growing government intolerance of the group whose spokesperson, Nadia Yassine, has been awaiting trial since 2005 on charges of defaming the monarchy.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible:
- Calling on the Director of Prison Administration and Rehabilitation to ensure that the seven detainees have access to all necessary medication and regular medical check-ups;
- Urging the Minister of Justice to ensure that a full, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture is conducted and that any officials responsible for abuse are brought to justice;
- Urging the Minister of Justice to ensure that no statements extracted under torture or duress are used as evidence in legal proceedings against the seven men, and to guarantee them a fair trial.
APPEALS TO:
Minister of Justice
Mohamed Naciri
Place Mamounia
Rabat
MOROCCO
Fax: 011 212 537 734 725 OR 011 212 537 730 772
Salutation: Your Excellency
Director of Prison Administration and Rehabilitation
Angle Avenue Ibn Sinaa et Rue Oued ElMakhazine
Immeubles nos 1 et 2, Agdal
BP 123 Rabat
MOROCCO
Fax: 011 212 537 674 785
Salutation: Dear Sir
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Aziz Mekouar
Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco
1601 21st St. NW
Washington DC 20009
Phone: 202 462 7979 OR 202 457 0012
Fax: 1 202 265 0161 OR 202 462 7643
Email: mmouline@moroccous.com (Mouna Mouline, Human Rights, Social and Humanitarian Affairs)
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals after 1 September 2010.
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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