The royal pardon for the benefit of the 17 convicted for cases of extremism and terrorism comes under the “Reconciliation” (Moussalaha) program which has proven itself in all its editions which have not recorded any cases of recidivism, affirms our expert.
King Mohammed VI has just granted his pardon to 1,518 people on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr, including 17 prisoners sentenced for cases of extremism and terrorism, after having officially expressed their attachment to the constants and sacredness of the Nation and national institutions, revised their ideological orientations and rejected extremism and terrorism.
The royal pardon granted to these convicts is part of the “Reconciliation” program, aimed at the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners who have expressed their desire to participate.
This programme, launched in 2017, was established by the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), in cooperation with the Ministry of State responsible for Human Rights, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, the Superior Council of the Judiciary, the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), the Rabita Mohammadia des Oulémas and the Mohammed VI Foundation for the reintegration of detainees.
It is based on three main axes: reconciliation with oneself, reconciliation with the religious text and reconciliation with society.
The thinker and researcher in Islamic studies, Mohamed Abdelouahab Rafiqui, asserted that the amnesty enjoyed by these convicts has become a tradition on every religious and national occasion, noting that ” the reconciliation program has a major role in the release of these people“.
He explained, in a statement to MoroccoLatestNews, that the process of releasing convicts in these cases “ evolves from year to year, and the reconciliation program has proven its effectiveness, as evidenced by the fact that it is now in its 10th edition“.
According to the researcher, what affirms the success of this program is that “no cases of recurrence were recorded in all of these ten editions, which means that it gave the expected fruit“.
In addition, Rafiqui points out that the problem that exists to date is related to ” the accompaniment and follow-up of these released detainees. It is necessary to give them a helping hand to integrate into society, which requires more effort to be made, and to encourage other prisoners to participate in such initiatives.“.
As a reminder, pardons were granted on the remainder of the custodial sentence in favor of five detainees, on the remainder of the custodial sentence and the fine sentence in favor of five others, a remission of the custodial sentence in favor of six convicted as well as a pardon on the fine sentence for the benefit of one person.