The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) participated in the 4th International Symposium on Alternatives to Penalties Involving Deprivation of Liberty, organized by the Presidency of the Moroccan Public Prosecution, in Rabat, in cooperation with Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, to discuss topics related to alternatives to penalties and measures involving deprivation of liberty in Arab countries’ legislations.

The opening of the symposium, on Tuesday (June 28, 2022), saw the presence of Mr. Abdellatif Wahbi, Moroccan Minister of Justice, Mr. Moulay El Hassan Daki, Attorney-General of the King at the Court of Cassation, Head of Public Prosecution, and Dr. Abdelmajid bin Abdullah Al-Banyan, President of Naif Arab University for Sciences.
The two-day symposium explores alternatives to penalties and measures involving deprivation of liberty from the perspective of comparative criminal law and relevant human sciences. It also reviews Arab judicial applications of alternatives to penalties involving deprivation of liberty and civil society efforts to expand their application and discusses the phenomena of prison overcrowding and recidivism.

Mr. Mohammed Hedi Shili, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs and International Standards, represented ICESCO at this symposium, which also brought together a group of representatives of the Public Prosecution and high-ranking judges from several Arab countries. The first session reviewed the experiences of Arab countries in the field of alternatives to penalties and highlighted the challenges facing penal policies in these countries.