Tell Morocco: End impunity for torture

Lend your voice. Help Morocco's torture survivors be heard.

Dear Tracy, Moroccan student activist Boubker Hadari was peacefully protesting on the roof of his campus science library when multiple security officers surrounded him, beat him with batons and threw him off the two-story roof. He awoke in a pool of blood, surrounded by officers taking pictures and spitting insults at him and his mother. The attack left him with multiple fractures and broken vertebrae. This is how Morocco takes a stand against torture? Demand justice for torture survivors in Morocco and Western Sahara. Urge Moroccan authorities to commit to protecting survivors and bringing torturers to justice. Boubker's harrowing tale is one of 173 cases of torture and ill-treatment at the hands of Moroccan authorities documented by Amnesty International in our new report "Shadow of Impunity: Torture in Morocco and Western Sahara." Despite repeated declarations on eradicating torture, Moroccan authorities allow a shocking, brutal and systemic level of state-sponsored torture. The continuum of violence begins with brazen arrests in public spaces and extends to coercion and violence in custody. Security officers have raped women and men with batons and glass bottles in an attempt to force them to incriminate themselves. They have tortured peaceful political protesters and activists challenging poverty and inequality, as well as people suspected of terrorism or ordinary crimes. Now Morocco's torture survivors are speaking out, and they need your help today to be heard. Increase the power of Amnesty's explosive report on torture in Morocco and give survivors hope for justice. Add your name to our petition calling on Moroccan authorities to confront torture by investigating perpetrators and holding them accountable. To make matters worse, Morocco's judicial system offers no redress. In courts, prosecutors and judges alike turn a blind eye to visible injuries. Judges explicitly refuse medical examinations. In the rare cases where courts grant medical examinations, evidence often becomes "lost." Moroccan officials claim this isn't torture, just "bad habits." But it's happening on their watch, in plain sight, with their knowledge. Urge Moroccan authorities to listen, to see, and to act to stop torture. Torture survivors have a right to justice. Take action today to help them get it. Thank you for standing up for human rights today and every day. Yours in peace, Sunjeev Bery Advocacy Director, Middle East/North Africa Amnesty International USA