Morocco
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Hassan al-Rabea’s extradition constitutes a grave violation of Morocco’s international obligations
Mr. Aziz Akhannouch
Head of Government of Morocco
Prime Minister’s Office
Touarga, Rabat
CC: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad; Ministry of Justice; National Human Rights Council
To the Prime Minister of Morocco, Mr. Akhannouch:
We, the undersigned human rights organisations, write to express our grave concern for the fate of Saudi national Hassan al-Rabea and seek clarification as to why your government approved his extradition to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Rabea arrived in Morocco in June 2022. On January 14, 2023, he was arrested at Marrakesh airport, following the Arab Interior Ministers Council’s issuance of a provisional arrest request made by Saudi Arabia. He was wanted on charges of “collaboration with terrorists by having them agree and collaborate with him to get him outside of Saudi Arabia in an irregular fashion,” based on article 38 of the 2017 Law on Combating Terrorism Crimes and its Financing, which carries a prison sentence of between 10 to 20 years.
On February 6, 2023, al-Rabea was extradited from Morocco despite repeated civil society calls for his release and non-extradition to Saudi Arabia, where he faces credible risks of persecution and other serious harm, including a risk of torture, for reasons related to his religious beliefs and his family’s history of political protests.
We are deeply concerned by Morocco’s apparent violation of the principle of non-refoulementunder international human rights and refugee laws to which Morocco is a party, including the UN and African refugee conventions, the Convention against Torture, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is particularly concerning, with due process violations, arbitrary and secret detention, enforced disappearance, torture and capital punishment being rampant practices.
Furthermore, al-Rabea’s extradition may violate the Moroccan Code of Criminal Procedure, particularly article 721, which provides that: “extraditions shall not be granted when there are substantial grounds for believing that an extradition request apparently related to an ordinary offence has in fact been made for the purpose of prosecuting or punishing a person on the grounds of his or her race, religion, nationality or political opinion, or may aggravate this person’s situation for any of these reasons.”
Al-Rabea’s family has long been persecuted by the Saudi authorities: his brother Munir is wanted by the authorities for allegedly protesting in al-Awamiyah in 2011, and his brother Ali Mohammed is currently in detention facing the death penalty following his sentencing in November 2022. Two of al-Rabea’s cousins, Hussein al-Rabea and Ahmed al-Rabea, were executed on April 23, 2019, in a mass execution of 37 men, 33 of them Shia, who had been convicted following unfair trials for various alleged crimes, including protest-related offences, espionage, and terrorism.
Al-Rabea and his family belong to the Shia minority, which the Saudi authorities have historically discriminated against and subjected to persecution. In fact, many Shia Saudi citizens have been sentenced to long years of imprisonment, have been executed or face the death penalty as a result of unfair trials. Furthermore, Shia Saudis convicted of protest-related crimes in 2011 gave confessions allegedly tainted by the practices of torture and ill-treatment, such as beatings and prolonged solitary confinement.
We believe that Hassan’s detention and extradition are part of the Saudi authorities’ reprisals against the al-Rabea family, and that he is likely to face serious human rights abuses upon his arrival to Saudi Arabia.
Morocco extradited al-Rabea following a favourable opinion of the Court of Cassation issued on February 1, 2023. The Court's decision was issued following a single hearing that appears not to have allowed al-Rabea reasonable time to present his case for protection.
Al-Rabea’s extradition represents the continuation of a worrying trend: in 2021, Morocco extradited another Saudi national, Osama al-Hasani. Although the UN Committee against Torture requested interim measures by suspending his extradition pending the review of his case, al-Hasani was swiftly extradited on board a private plane chartered by Saudi Arabia. On September 3, 2021, it was reported that the Saudi Specialised Criminal Court, known for its politicised and grossly unfair trials, sentenced al-Hasani to four years’ imprisonment, despite him being cleared of wrongdoing in the case back in 2018.
In 2016, Morocco acted in accordance with international human rights standards by suspending the extradition of a Syrian national facing extradition to Saudi Arabia after the UN Committee against Torture raised concerns. Morocco had taken additional steps such as ratifying the Optional Protocol to the UNCAT and establishing a national preventive mechanism. More recently, you have refrained from validating the extradition of Yidiresi Aishan after the Court of Cassation ruled in favour of his extradition to China on December 15, 2021, after several hearings.
In light of the above, we, the undersigned, seek an explanation for the decision to extradite Hassan al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia.
Signatories:
- Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT-France)
- ALQST for Human Rights
- Amnesty International
- Association Marocaine des Droits Humains (AMDH)
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- Committee for Justice (CFJ)
- Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN)
- Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor
- European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR)
- Freedom Forward
- Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
- Human Rights First
- Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
- Human Rights Watch
- HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
- International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
- MENA Rights Group
- Moroccan Collective Against the Death Penalty
- Moroccan Collective of Human Rights Instances
- Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
- Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (Salam DHR)
- The Freedom Initiative
- World Alliance For Citizen Participation (CIVICUS)
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
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MOROCCO: ‘Support those who were there before the earthquake hit and will stay when the cameras are gone’
CIVICUS speaks about the role of civil society in the response to the recent earthquake in Morocco with Victoria Vrana, Chief Executive Officer at GlobalGiving.Founded in 2002, GlobalGiving is a nonprofit organisation working to accelerate community-led change. When a crisis happens, GlobalGiving works to quickly deliver funds to vetted organisations that are best suited to lead immediate and long-term relief and recovery.
What can governments do to reduce the damage caused by natural disasters?
Governments play a critical role in disaster response, and there is a global need for enhanced disaster preparedness and risk reduction efforts. Even thoughevery US$1 invested in disaster risk reduction saves US$6 in damages, the currentglobal spending on disaster response is five times higher than the spending on risk reduction. Prioritising disaster-resilient homes and businesses, early warning systems and risk mapping saves lives. Still, relatively little attention is being paid to these essential activities worldwide, leaving the most vulnerable communities, including children, women and low-income families, underprepared when disaster inevitably strikes.
How does civil society help address disasters?
When governments impose aid restrictions or, in the chaotic aftermath of a disaster, block roads or runways, circumventing red tape becomes crucial for delivering aid directly to those in need. During earthquakes, friends, families and neighbours emerge as the true first responders, standing on the frontlines alongside local organisations. The goal of GlobalGiving is to deliver aid into their handsas quickly as possible. We rapidly mobilise resources and make disbursements within a few days after a disaster strikes.
What work is GlobalGiving doing in Morocco?
There is an ongoing disaster response with many stakeholders involved. GlobalGiving collaborates with over two dozen vetted nonprofit partners, actively involved in earthquake-affected areas. Many of them are registered and based in Morocco and others have decades of experience working in the country. We focus on empowering those local, community-led organisationsto make a lasting impact by providing them with the necessary tools and resources for pre-crisis, crisis and post-crisis situations.
GlobalGiving is a safe and trusted organisation with over 20 years of experience accredited by theBBB Wise Giving Alliance andhighly rated onCharity Navigator. All donations to theGlobalGiving Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund contribute to relief and recovery efforts in Morocco.
Initially, the fund has been instrumental in addressing survivors’ immediate needs in food, fuel, clean water, medicine and shelter. As time passes, our fund will shift its focus to support recovery efforts. The most significant challenge isrebuildinglives and communities following disaster. Our partners will be working to meet the most pressing needs over the coming months, but the rebuilding process will likely take years, leaving many people without permanent homes in the meantime.
What international support does Morocco currently need, and how can people help?
Some of the greatest needs include food, water, emergency medical supplies and temporary relief and emergency supplies for displaced families. Our partners are also providing mental health and psychosocial support for affected communities, including frontline workers. You can contribute to all these efforts by donating to theGlobalGiving Morocco Earthquake Relief Fund.
History demonstrates that attention shifts elsewhere over the next few weeks after a disaster takes place, but affected communities are left grappling with the impacts for years to come. In the case of Morocco, we’ve already observed a decline in news coverage, leading to diminishing international support. Astartling 70 to 80 per cent of disaster funding is directed at short-term relief, with the majority allocated within the first two months of a disaster. Therefore, continuous support to local groups and those with contextual knowledge is of paramount importance.
At GlobalGiving, we advocate for planned donations that help survivors in the long run. So we encourage people to consider making a smaller immediate donation, followed by further contributions over time or, even better, to set up a monthly recurring donation to provide a steady source of income to help communities meet their long-term needs.
When you donate locally in the aftermath of an earthquake or another natural disaster, your contribution goes to organisations that have been living and working in the affected area and are better able to find context-specific solutions. Those people were there before the earthquake hit and will stay long after the news cameras are gone.
Civic space in Morocco is rated ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor.
Get in touch with GlobalGiving through itswebsite orFacebook page, and follow@GlobalGiving and@vicvrana on Twitter.
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Morocco: Civil society condemns arrests of peaceful protesters
The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in Middle East and North Africa and Global Civil Society Alliance CIVICUS, express grave concerns over the arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters and call on the Moroccan authorities to release all those in detention. So far at least 127 protesters have been detained in the wake of the brutal crackdown on demonstrations in the north of Morocco.
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Morocco: End intimidation and harassment campaign against rights defender Maati Monjib
The undersigned civil society organisations call on the Moroccan authorities to immediately end their intimidation and harassment campaign against academic and human rights defender Maati Monjib and drop all baseless charges leveled against him.
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New report documents restrictions to civic freedoms in Morocco
CIVICUS has produced a new research brief on the state of civic freedoms in Morocco. Freedom of expression is strictly limited and those who criticise the government or the monarchy, or question Morocco’s territorial integrity, are likely to be arrested and imprisoned. Laws related to the COVID-19 public health emergency have been used as a pretext to further restrict freedom of expression.
Three leading journalists, Taoufik Bouachrine, Omar Radi and Souleiman Raissouni, are currently imprisoned on trumped up sex-related charges, a move intended to isolate them and tarnish their reputations. Morocco’s last independent publication, Akhbar Al Yaoum, was forced to end its activities in March 2021, after being denied aid and after its founder and leading reporters were judicially harassed and imprisoned.Social media commentators and bloggers have been prosecuted and imprisoned for publishing content on Facebook or YouTube critical of the government or the monarch.
Morocco has been implicated in Amnesty International’s investigation into Pegasus spyware, sold to states by Israel’s NSO group. Several journalists have been targeted with the surveillance tool, both inside and outside Morocco.
LGBTQI+ rights are restricted and homosexuality and consensual same-sex relations are criminalised. Recently, a book on LGBTQI+ issues was withdrawn from the Rabat Book Fair following a social media campaign.
Morocco exercises even stricter control over Western Sahara, also known as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. Most of this disputed area is under de facto Moroccan administration. Sahrawi activists, human rights defenders and journalists are brutally harassed, arrested and imprisoned, often for long spells and in inhumane detention conditions.
More information
Download the Morocco research brief here.
Morocco is currently rated Obstructed by the CIVICUS Monitor. There are a total of 50 countries in the world with this rating (see all). This rating is typically given to countries where civic space is heavily contested by power holders, who impose a combination of legal and practical constraints on the full enjoyment of fundamental rights (see the full description of ratings).
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Paris Climate Agreement comes into force: A review of the UN's Climate Change Conference in Marrakech (A.K.A. COP22)
One year since the historic Paris Climate Change Agreement, over 20,000 leaders from government, business and civil society met in Marrakech, Morocco for the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22). The two week conference reviewed progress on implementation, produced additional commitments and examined the relationship between the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In the beginning, there was a lot of enthusiasm with the ratification of the Paris agreement in a record time just before the negotiations started. However, in the third day of the Conference participants were hit by the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. Despite reassuring remarks on the resilience of the Paris Agreement and the possibility of leadership on the local and regional levels, concerns and uncertainty about the future of climate cooperation were present throughout the event.
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Rights groups reiterate their call on Moroccan authorities to end the persecution of Taoufik Bouachrine, and other critical journalists
The undersigned rights groups reiterate their call on Moroccan authorities to immediately end the persecution and detention of prominent independent newspaper editor Taoufik Bouachrine, and scores of Moroccan journalists and human rights defenders imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.
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Urgent Appeal: Civil Society Call for Moroccan Authorities to Cease Intimidation of Journalist Omar Radi
The undersigned civil society organisations call for an immediate and unconditional end to the intimidation and harassment of independent Moroccan journalist, Omar Radi, who has been summoned by police to appear for interrogation seven times over the past several weeks. Radi has been targeted by the authorities for his critical investigations and reporting, as one of the few journalists in Morocco who covers the corruption and business relations of the monarchy and its networks. Radi had been subjected to a sophisticated spyware attack, whereby his private communications were intercepted by a third party as documented in a public report by Amnesty International. Since the release of the report, the Moroccan government has undertaken an intimidation and harassment campaign, and has accused Radi of working with Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, among other unsubstantiated allegations.