The abolition of the death penalty in Morocco continues to be debated in Morocco. A “network of entrepreneurs against the death penalty” was even created on the initiative of a group of Moroccan activists.
The “Network of Entrepreneurs Against the Death Penalty” was thus born at the end of the Constituent General Assembly held on Tuesday, October 25 in Rabat, with the aim of campaigning for the definitive abolition of this capital punishment from the Moroccan penal code. and raise awareness of the importance of protecting the right to life.
“The death penalty is inhuman and is at odds with the philosophy of punishment because it does not deter the criminal and does not reduce criminality”, indicates Nadia Benhida, the national coordinator of the Network, who points out that this penalty capital “sometimes reinforces the criminal motive in which economic, social and cultural factors are intertwined”.
The coordinator explains that the creation of this network stems from “the conviction as entrepreneurs”, that it is important to join the defenders of the right to life and the militants for the abolition of the death penalty at the local level. , regional and international.
The executive office includes Nadia Benhida as national coordinator of the network, Abdelbaki Yousfi as national deputy coordinator, Abdelmonaim Salami, secretary general, Abdessamad Minsaf, deputy secretary general and Abdellah Amzil, treasurer of the network.
Me Abderrahim Jamaï, coordinator of the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty, who had previously appealed to the State to “listen to the voices of abolitionists and take the decision to vote in favor of the abolition of the death penalty and in favor of the moratorium next December”, considers this initiative led by entrepreneurs, encouraging, and qualifies it as the first of its kind in the entire MENA region.
In this regard, he salutes the efforts made by the members of the network, considering that “the holding of this constituent assembly at the headquarters of the National Human Rights Council testifies to the interest of this national institution in abolishing the death penalty”. .
Recall that the last execution in Morocco took place in 1993, which means that this sentence has not been applied for three decades now despite its existence in the penal code. In addition, many death row prisoners were pardoned between 2000 and 2022 and more than 123 death sentences were commuted to life or fixed-term sentences.
However, Amina Bouayach, president of the CNDH had shared during an international meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York, data revealing that the country today has a total of 76 prisoners sentenced to death, including a woman, including 59 tried for ordinary crimes and 17 for crimes related to terrorism.
Moreover, the activist hopes for the abolition of this penalty, once and for all, by December when the 3rd commission of the United Nations General Assembly is held. “The time has come to protect the right to life, and to break, this year, with the political and legislative hesitations which characterize the vote in favor of the Optional Protocol for the abolition of the death penalty, on the horizon of its definitive abolition by revising the Criminal Code”, she expressed during the celebration of the international day against the death penalty.