The international community is increasingly vocal in its calls for accountability concerning the treatment of Sahrawi prisoners, particularly in light of the ongoing hunger strike by the detainees of the "Gdeim Izik" group. This situation coincides with the release of a Norwegian human rights report documenting the harrowing testimonies of four Sahrawi students regarding instances of torture, isolation, and denial of medical care within Moroccan prisons.
In the latest developments regarding the "Gdeim Izik" group, both the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organization Against Torture have issued statements expressing deep concern over the open-ended hunger strike initiated by several prisoners since September 23rd. This protest is aimed at highlighting the continued unlawful detention and inhumane prison conditions they face, while also calling for the implementation of the opinions and recommendations from United Nations mechanisms related to their case. Additionally, they demand to be transferred to prisons located in the occupied territories of Western Sahara to facilitate communication with their families.
The statement highlighted that eight detainees are currently on hunger strike, including notable figures such as Niama Asfari, Ahmed Al-Sebai, Hassan Dah, and others. It was noted that Al-Bashir Khda suspended his hunger strike after being transferred to a local prison in the occupied city of Laayoune, while authorities relocated Niama Asfari to the Loodaya prison in Marrakech and Al-Hussein Al-Zawi to the Ben Guerir prison, where they continue their hunger strike.
The severity of these developments is underscored by the fact that members of this group have been held for over sixteen years since their arrest. Their demands are not merely grievances but are tied to UN decisions and opinions. Instead of the passage of time leading to resolution and the safeguarding of their basic rights, their plight continues to necessitate intervention from human rights organizations and renewed calls for their release, placing legal and ethical responsibilities squarely on the Moroccan authorities.
However, the human rights indicators are not confined to the "Gdeim Izik" group alone. The Norwegian Support Committee for Western Sahara has released a report titled "Sahrawi Students Subjected to Beatings, Isolation, and Denial of Medical Care in Moroccan Prisons," prepared in collaboration with the National Union of Students in Norway and the legal aid clinic "Jussbuss." This report is based on interviews with four Sahrawi students who were released this year after spending a decade behind bars.
The testimonies collected in this report recount experiences of torture during arrest and interrogation, threats, and coercion to sign confessions that the individuals were not allowed to read. Additionally, it discusses solitary confinement, denial of medical treatment, and restrictions on communication with their families. The former detainees reported significant obstacles in continuing their education, indicating that the repercussions of their detention extend beyond their prison time, impacting their educational and social futures.
The accounts are attributed to four students: Kentaoui Al-Bour, Aziz Al-Wahidi, Abdul Moulah Hafidi, and Mohamed Dada, who were arrested in 2016 along with other students, according to the report.
These testimonies gain further significance as the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded, in an opinion issued in 2019 regarding their case, that their detention was arbitrary and constituted persecution based on discriminatory grounds due to their political activism and support for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination, calling for their immediate release. Nevertheless, the four remained imprisoned for additional years until they completed their unjust sentences and were released in 2026.
This information places the issue of accountability at the heart of the human rights discourse, as it does not only concern testimonies about prison conditions but also involves previous UN assessments of the nature and rationale behind their detention. Moreover, the ongoing restrictions on medical care and family communication, as reported by former detainees, highlight Morocco's responsibility for the continued violations of Sahrawi prisoners' rights, reflecting a policy of oppression that infringes upon their most basic human rights and contravenes the legal protections meant to shield them from abuse and mistreatment.
This trajectory is reinforced by the conclusions drawn by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its opinion number A/HRC/WGAD/2023/23 regarding members of the "Gdeim Izik" group, which addressed the legal basis for their detention and the guarantees of a fair trial, concluding that their detention was arbitrary. It urged necessary measures to rectify their situation. This document affirms that the case of Sahrawi detainees has undergone direct UN evaluation, and the current human rights demands are grounded in a trajectory that extends beyond solidarity statements to encompass legal opinions issued by UN mechanisms.
As reported by aps.dz.
