On October 12, 2026, Claude Mangin-Asfari, the wife of Sahrawi political prisoner Naâma Asfari, was barred from entering Morocco while attempting to visit her husband in Marrakech. Despite her travel companions, Philippe Bouyssou, the mayor of Ivry-sur-Seine, and municipal councilor Claire Delmotte, being granted entry, Mangin was detained at the airport, highlighting ongoing restrictions that she has faced for years in her efforts to see her husband.
This trip was not merely personal; it was part of an institutional mission supported by the Ivry-sur-Seine City Council. On October 8, the council had passed a resolution backing Naâma Asfari and tasked the mayor with visiting him to express the city's solidarity and to ascertain his conditions of imprisonment firsthand. The Moroccan authorities’ decision to specifically deny Mangin entry raises critical questions about the treatment of political prisoners and their families in the region.
Claude Mangin has publicly stated that she has not seen her husband since 2019 due to repeated denials by Moroccan authorities to allow her entry into the country. Naâma Asfari, part of the Gdeim Izik prisoner group, was recently moved from Kenitra to the Marrakech prison after participating in another hunger strike. Mangin's intention to travel was to personally check on his health and assert her right to visit him, a fundamental right that has become contentious amid the political climate surrounding their case.
The situation of Sahrawi political prisoners has resurfaced in the spotlight, particularly due to hunger strikes and ongoing concerns about their detention conditions, alongside demands for Morocco to comply with international human rights mechanisms. The fact that Bouyssou and Delmotte were allowed entry while Mangin was detained underscores the targeted nature of the measures taken against her. This latest incident not only separates a couple that has long sought the basic right to visit each other in prison but also reinvigorates the ongoing conflict over the imprisonment of Naâma Asfari.
As reported by noteolvidesdelsaharaoccidental.org.
