The United Nations Committee Against Torture has leveled serious accusations against Morocco, claiming that the nation has engaged in systematic human rights violations against detainees from the Gdeim Izik protest camp located in the occupied Western Sahara. The committee's report highlights the reliance on torture, coerced confessions, and the failure to conduct thorough investigations in a series of politically sensitive judicial proceedings. This alarming assessment follows the review of four new complaints submitted by Sahrawi detainees who were arrested following the dismantling of the Gdeim Izik protest camp near the occupied capital of Western Sahara, Laayoune, in 2010. The camp, which at its peak hosted over 20,000 Sahrawi demonstrators, was established to peacefully protest against what they described as Moroccan colonial discrimination and the deteriorating social and economic conditions in Western Sahara.
The committee's findings indicate that the four cases are part of a broader, “consistent pattern” previously identified in six earlier rulings concerning Gdeim Izik detainees. According to the committee, these cases reveal repeated practices that include arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, torture during interrogations, and the use of confessions alleged to have been obtained under duress as evidence in court. Detainees reported experiencing severe torture during their arrests, including beatings, cigarette burns, threats of sexual violence, and painful stress positions such as “the chicken” and “falqa,” a form of torture involving repeated strikes to the soles of the feet. They also reported extended periods of solitary confinement, deprivation of food and medical care, and restrictions on access to lawyers and family visits.
Peter Fidel Kessing, the Deputy Chair of the Committee Against Torture, indicated that the recurrence of these allegations points to a structural problem rather than isolated incidents. Kessing stated, “Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases, but a structural issue in the way Morocco handles matters related to Gdeim Izik.” The committee criticized Moroccan judicial authorities for refusing to document torture complaints or initiate prompt investigations despite clear signs of mistreatment. It was noted that medical examinations were only conducted six years later by a Rabat appellate court ruling and that these examinations were neither independent nor compliant with the Istanbul Protocol, which sets international standards for documenting torture.
According to the complainants, detainees were coerced into signing or fingerprinting police reports without knowledge of their content after enduring torture and mistreatment. These reports were subsequently used as key evidence in trials before a Moroccan military court in 2013 and later before the Rabat appellate court. Ultimately, four detainees were convicted, with two receiving life sentences and the other two sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The committee concluded that Morocco has violated several obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture by failing to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into allegations of torture, not preventing torture during detention and interrogation, depriving victims of effective complaint mechanisms, and relying on evidence purportedly obtained under coercion. The committee expressed concern over what it described as Morocco's continued reliance on questionable confessions in Gdeim Izik cases despite repeated international criticism.
The committee urged Morocco to initiate fair investigations aligned with the amended Istanbul Protocol, hold accountable those responsible for torture, and provide reparations to the complainants. It also called for colonial authorities to review judicial rulings linked to dubious confessions and annul them where appropriate. Furthermore, it demanded that detainees be granted regular access to lawyers, doctors, and family members, and that authorities refrain from any intimidation or retaliatory acts against complainants.
The Gdeim Izik camp remains one of the most politically sensitive events in the modern history of Western Sahara, which is reported by international bodies as an occupied and colonized territory by Morocco. Human rights organizations have raised concerns for years about the treatment of Sahrawi activists detained in connection with these protests, yet no decisive international responses have been recorded to date.
As reported by echoroukonline.com.
