Moroccan courts have so far handed down 450 sentences involving alternative penalties, according to Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi, who addressed the issue during a session at the House of Representatives on Monday. He was responding to questions about the country’s progress in implementing restorative justice policies.
Ouahbi acknowledged, however, that not all individuals sentenced to these alternatives have fulfilled their obligations. In several instances, offenders simply failed to carry out the sanctions imposed on them. As a result, the judiciary has revoked those alternative measures and ordered the re-incarceration of nine individuals. These cases involved people who neither complied with their sentences nor submitted any justification or formal request to the appropriate judicial authority.
The minister emphasized that alternative sentences are not optional or symbolic—they carry the same legal weight as traditional prison terms. Convicted individuals remain fully responsible for complying with the conditions set by the court. If they fail to do so, their prison sentence is reinstated without exception. He made it clear that executing these alternatives is not subject to negotiation or leniency; any complications must be reported to the sentencing judge or the head of the court.
Ouahbi also defended the use of alternative sentencing as a vital tool in Morocco’s criminal justice strategy, arguing that it helps reintegrate offenders into society while maintaining the full authority of judicial rulings. For the justice system, he said, the goal is to hold individuals accountable in ways that also promote rehabilitation—not to dilute the seriousness of court decisions.
