H.H. Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui
Ambassador of His Majesty the King of Morocco to the Court of Saint James’s
Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco
49, Queens Gate Gardens
London SW7 5 NE
cc. Embassy of Belgium in London
Your Excellency,
You may recall my writing to you before about the troubling case of Ali Aarrass, the dual Belgian/ Moroccan citizen tried and convicted of terrorism-related offences on the sole basis of torture evidence following a flagrantly unfair trial. Mr Aarrass is currently serving a twelve-year sentence at Salé II prison, where he reports having been the subject of repeated provocations, intimidation and harassment since meeting the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Méndez, in September last year. (You may well be aware of the Special Rapporteur’s report on the case, which was made public earlier in the year. )
The latest of these provocations has driven Mr Aarrass to embark on an indefinite hunger strike. In brief, an item of post which he received on 8 July, a medallion given to competitors in the Brussels marathon, and its ribbon in the Belgian colours, was arbitrarily confiscated hours after he received it. Two days later, witnesses saw the prison Director, Abdellah Darif, and his assistant Mr Bouazza enter his cell in his absence, rip down postcards he had put up on the wall from friends and family, and conduct a search which left his possessions in disarray, in breach of rules which require prisoners to be present during searches. When Mr Aarrass asked to see the prison Director and asked him why he was being treated in this way, the Director indicated that Mr Aarrass was only a prisoner and that he, the Director, could do as he pleased. After this meeting, Mr Aarrass was not permitted access to a telephone, or to the exercise courtyard, or to the showers, and his personal mail has been withheld.
In protest at this denial of his basic rights and human dignity, Mr Aarrass has embarked on 12 July on indefinite hunger strike, until his possessions and his basic rights are returned to him.
It is hard to avoid the conclusion that Mr Aarrass is being punished for his contact with the United Nations Special Rapporteur, who I understand will be informed of these developments. I am extremely concerned that his attempts to exercise fundamental rights are met with such harassment and victimisation.
I would be grateful if you would convey my concerns urgently to the relevant authorities for immediate investigation.
Yours sincerely,
Jeremy Corby MP
