The Marrakech Court of Appeal has ordered the continued detention of a nurse, a farm owner near El Attaouia, his son, and three other suspects released on bail, in connection with the sequestration of 19 people in inhumane conditions due to their mental illnesses. Among the victims were individuals from various cities and regions across the country. The defendants have been charged with «human trafficking, breach of trust, transport and sequestration of persons due to illness and physical and psychological deficiency, regular receipt of money as part of an organized gang, torture, and exploitation through forced labor». Many of the victims reportedly also suffered from drug and psychotropic substance addictions. Following these revelations, the local section of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) expressed shock at the discovery of the 19 victims at a farm near El Attaouia. The NGO described the incriminated acts as «dangerous threats to the right to life, constituting serious rights violations that characterize crimes punishable by law». In this case, the association demanded «a serious and responsible investigation into these practices that violate human dignity, and into forced detention, kidnappings, torture, and violations of citizens' physical and psychological integrity, while revealing the truth and making public the results of the investigation». To better preserve «citizens' life and security» and considering that «the place for patients with mental disorders is only in health facilities», the AMDH also called for vigilance regarding the possible existence of other similar locations that might hold victims and could constitute «illegal detention centers».
