Measles outbreak among prisoners brings back "remote trial" measures to the city of Tangier

The measles (Bouhamroun) outbreak in Tangier continues to attract attention and occupy the minds of public opinion and officials in the city, as the number of infections among inmates of Tangier 2 prison, announced by the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration last Wednesday, has sparked terror among institutions that have a direct relationship with the prison.

According to data obtained by the Hespress electronic newspaper, the epidemiological situation at “Tangier 2” prison, which the Delegation’s statistics on the spread of the epidemic among inmates of prison institutions across the country revealed to be at the top of the list with 23 infections, has raised concerns among the city’s courts in dealing with inmates and trying those among them who are being prosecuted.

According to informed sources, the courts of Tangier have returned to working with the system of holding sessions and trying those being prosecuted via video conferencing technology, as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of the highly contagious disease in the courts.

The same data confirmed that during the past few days, the city’s courts did not receive any “inmate from Tangier 2 prison to attend the trial sessions to which they are subject at various levels of litigation.” According to sources knowledgeable about court affairs in the city, this measure “will be relied upon for a long period until the prison is declared free of any infections.”

The scenario that the courts of Tangier are experiencing these days brings to mind the situation that the Kingdom’s courts experienced during the spread of the Corona pandemic, which sparked widespread controversy regarding its nature and the conditions for ensuring the rights of the parties and achieving a fair trial.

The General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration announced last Friday that 47 female and male inmates had been infected with measles (Bouhamroun), distributed across nine institutions. 7 of them have recovered after undergoing the recommended treatment protocol, bringing the number of currently infected to 40, including 38 in medical isolation and 2 undergoing treatment at the public hospital.

The General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration indicated, in a statement, that the cases of infection are distributed among the Tangier 2 local prison (15 cases in isolation and one case undergoing treatment at a public hospital), the Mohammedia local prison (9 cases), and the Ain Borja local prison (6 cases in isolation, and one case undergoing treatment at a public hospital).

The statement added that “two cases were recorded in each of the Central Prison in Kenitra and the local prison of Bourkaiz in Fez, and one case in each of the local prisons of Bouarfa, Kelaat Sraghna, Benslimane, and Tetouan,” noting that “five employees were recorded with this disease, one of whom has recovered, while the rest are undergoing the aforementioned health protocol.”

The same source stated that “within the framework of the efforts made by the General Delegation, in partnership with the supervising ministry, to prevent the spread of this disease in prison institutions, 3,788 female and male inmates and 84 female and male employees benefited from vaccination on a voluntary basis, and under the supervision of the staff affiliated with the regional delegations of the health and social protection sector.”

The General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration confirmed that “all prison institutions continue to mobilize to prevent and limit the spread of this disease, in implementation of the provisions of the memorandum circulated to them in this regard, and in close procedural coordination with the supervising sector.”

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