HIBAPRESS – Ben Guerir
The Court of First Instance in Ben Guerir issued, during the period from September 15th to October 9th, six judicial rulings whereby custodial sentences were replaced with alternative penalties, in a move that reflects the new trend towards restorative justice that balances the fight against crime and reducing overcrowding within prison institutions.
In the latest rulings issued on October 9th, the Disciplinary Misdemeanor Chamber ruled to replace a one-month prison sentence and a fine of 1200 dirhams with a penalty of weekly attendance at the First Security District for a month, with a warning that in case of non-execution of the alternative penalty within six months, or a breach of it, the original penalty will be implemented.
In another case, involving two people, one was sentenced to one month suspended imprisonment and a fine of 500 dirhams, and the other to one month of effective imprisonment and a fine of 1200 dirhams, with the confiscation of the seized white weapon in favor of state property. The effective custodial sentence was replaced with weekly attendance at the Second Security District for a month.
The court had previously, on October 2nd, issued three similar rulings in which a month of effective imprisonment and fines were replaced with alternative penalties consisting of attendance at the headquarters of the security districts once a week for a month, with emphasis on the necessity of respecting the deadlines for implementation under penalty of activating the original penalty.
In a precedent, the court issued on September 15th the first ruling with an alternative penalty, against a person who had been sentenced to two months of effective imprisonment and a fine of 500 dirhams, where the penalty was converted to a daily fine of 100 dirhams for each day of imprisonment, totaling 6000 dirhams, to be paid by the accused within six months, in addition to attending the Sidi Boucman Royal Gendarmerie Center every Monday during the same period.
The reformist trend also included a new type of penalties, as the court ruled, in a case related to assault and battery with a weapon against a woman, to replace a one-month effective imprisonment penalty with non-exposure or contact with the victims by any means for a month, with the emphasis that violating this condition leads to the implementation of the original ruling.
These rulings reflect the practical application of the provisions of the law relating to alternative penalties, which recently came into effect, and indicate an advanced judicial awareness of the necessity of adopting alternatives to custodial sentences, that take into account reintegration and reduce the burdens on the prison system.
