Algerian authorities have recently handed over 16 Moroccan detainees who were either serving sentences or held in administrative detention in Algeria, according to local media. This transfer was facilitated with a valid passport and a passage document.
The detainees, hailing from the cities such of Oujda, Figuig, Tangier, Casablanca, Taza, Fes, Tetouan, Midelt, Khouribga, Kenitra and Demnate, had served their sentences in various Algerian prisons, notably in the Tlemcen region.
News outlets have reported that the association managing these cases encountered “several technical and procedural difficulties.”
The Association for Aid to Migrants in Difficulty, a rights organization overseeing detainee cases in Algeria, currently handles over 330 detainee files and is also awaiting the return of six bodies to their families. This follows previous assistance in securing judicial and administrative measures for the repatriation of deceased individuals for their funerals.
With this latest transfer of 16 detainees, Algerian authorities have now handed over a total of 69 Moroccans to Moroccan officials between January 17 and August 1.
In mid-July, the Moroccan Association for the Support of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations announced that Morocco had temporarily reopened its land border with Algeria to facilitate the return of six Moroccan citizens who had completed their prison sentences in Tlemcen. These individuals are from Oujda, Kasbah Tadla, Taza and Fes.
Earlier, on May 22, Morocco had similarly reopened its border when Algeria allowed 15 Moroccans to return home.