The rule of King Hassan II from 1956 to 1999 was characterized by repression of political dissent, the enforced disappearance of hundreds of individuals, arbitrary detention of thousands of others, and the systemic use of torture and other ill-treatment. Though the human rights situation has improved significantly since the accession to the throne of King Mohamed VI, Amnesty International continues to receive reports of torture and other ill-treatment by police or gendarmerie during interrogation in pre-arraignment detention and in prisons and while detained incommunicado in secret detention centres.
