Global Voices Online

On Monday, April 7, nine men convicted of involvement in the 2003 suicide bombings in Casablanca went missing from a Kenitra prison. Prisoner rights advocacy group Ennassir said that the escape coincided with the beginning of a hunger strike by about 1,000 prisoners across Morocco. A search is underway, but the prisoners have yet to be found.

A Moro in America shared an analysis of prison breaks as related to terror convicts and said:

- Kenitra's prison is notorious for being the scene of previous prison breaks. Nino, a Ceuta-based drug lord, managed last year to buy his way out of the infamous prison. None of the prison guards was suspended or punished after the Spaniard's evaded.
- Back to this weekend's evasion,Coincidently, the dog of the prison's director , along with its cage, were removed few days ago from the prison. According to Almassae daily , the tunnel's end was right where the dog's cage used to be.
- So far in the history of Moroccan jails , two types of prisoners have managed to evade — the Al-Qadea members and the drug dealers. The common denominators amongst the two is that they both belong to cash-rich powerful rings. The prison guards can be easily coerced because not only they are underpaid, but they also work in a very corrupt environment where only money and bribes rule. It's the culture of prisons in Morocco, just like it is the case with prisons in developing nations.

Madame Monet is amused by the similarities between this incident and the popular television program of the same name:

In a real-life prison break, nine convicted terrorists who escaped yesterday from a prison in Kenitra. Apparently, just as in the real-life WWII movie, they tunneled out using a teaspoon! They were convicted of involvement in the wave of 2003 Casablanca bombings. Police seem to be manning the checkpoints all over Morocco. I think the prisoners must have been watching Prison Break, one of the most popular shows in Morocco. Too bad the guards must not have been watching it!