Aït Melloul Prison is a prison located in the city of

Aït Melloul Aït Melloul (; ar, أيت ملول) is a city on the west coast of Morocco. It is located in the suburban area of Agadir just southeast of Inezgane, on the southern bank of the Sous River. According to the 2014 population census, the city is ho ...

, near Agadir. It consists of two facilities, the first opened in 2003, while the second was opened in 2016. It is the biggest prison in the

Souss-Massa Souss-Massa ( ar, سوس ماسة, sūs māssa; ber, ⵙⵓⵙ ⵎⴰⵙⵙⴰ, sus massa) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 51,642 km² and had a population of 2,676,847 as of the 2014 Moroccan census. The cap ...

region.

History

Construction for the prison began in 2001, before opening in 2003. A second facility was opened in 2016 in order to replace the historical prison in Inezgane. In 2018, 5 people were injured, and considerable damage was done after a fire broke out in a hallway, according to local firefighters, the fire was quickly put out.

Criticism and scandals

Prison authorities were criticized during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

for the lack of action to protect prisoners against the virus. A prisoner told

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that the prison was "extremely filthy" and noted the "horrible conditions" of the prison. As of May 2020, there were 3 cases of COVID-19 in the prison. A high-ranking official of the prison was charged with

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

and indecency after photos were released on social media of the official having sex with a Tunisian prisoner inside the prison. In 2003, a student from Agadir, Abdelkarim Azzou, was arrested and taken to Aït Melloul Prison. Azzou claimed to be subject to "the cruelest form of torture that can exist" and was forced to sign a false confession, Azzou was detained without a trial for 2 years. Abdelkarim Azzou was sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism charges, the sentence was reduced to 12 years on appeal. He started a hunger strike in 2009.

References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Agadir Human rights abuses in Morocco Prisons in Morocco

History

Criticism and scandals

See also

References