The Belgian Minister of Justice, Annelies Verlinden, will make an official visit to Morocco on Thursday, June 11, in the context of enhancing judicial cooperation between Rabat and Brussels. The issue of the deportation of Moroccan prisoners convicted in Belgium to their home country is at the top of the discussion agenda.
This visit focuses on activating bilateral agreements related to the transfer of foreign prisoners to serve the remainder of their sentences in their home countries, especially in light of the increasing pressure on Belgian prison institutions.
The issue of Moroccan prisoners is one of the most prominent topics of this discussion, as official data indicates that about one in ten prisoners in Belgian prisons holds Moroccan nationality, making this issue important in the policy of managing overcrowding in prisons.
According to official sources, in recent months, 33 cases concerning Moroccan prisoners have been prepared for their transfer to Morocco, reflecting progress in activating judicial agreements between the two countries.
Through this approach, Belgium aims to accelerate the pace of deporting some foreign prisoners as part of a policy aimed at reducing overcrowding and improving detention conditions within its prison institutions.
The Belgian minister is also expected to discuss during her visit another judicial case concerning a Belgian citizen serving a prison sentence in Morocco, as Brussels wishes to transfer him to Belgium to complete his sentence.
This concerns the prisoner “Marc Moerman,” who has been convicted in Morocco since 2021 for sexual assaults within a family framework linked to a divorce and custody dispute, following complaints filed by his ex-wife.
