Press Statement
Over the past years, the Moroccan occupation authorities have launched a series of organized campaigns aimed at suppressing the work of Sahrawi human rights organizations. The authorities have used all available resources and tactics to limit their activities and silence their voices. Human rights defenders have been specifically targeted, with the Moroccan authorities seeking to undermine their credibility through a campaign of defamation and delegitimization. This has included attempts to silence their voices and assassinate their character, as well as hinder their work professionally and morally. Such actions represent a gross violation of the rights of the Sahrawi people and contravene the principles of international law.
The Moroccan occupation authorities have relentlessly targeted Sahrawi human rights defender Mahfouda Bemba Lafkir. On February 25, 2023. She has been subjected to constant surveillance and harassment, with police cars and Moroccan intelligence services following her every move and insulting her with derogatory language, which is a clear violation of her dignity as a human being. The situation took a disturbing turn when the so-called district commander’s car was used in an attempt to run her over, which she reported as a serious threat to her life and a blatant violation of her physical safety. These reprehensible actions are part of the authorities’ ongoing efforts to stifle the voices of human rights defenders and intimidate them into silence.
On February 26, 2023, Zainab Ambarek “Babi“, a Sahrawi activist, was visiting her family at the “Ahel Habul” tent outside the occupied city of Boujdour when she was pursued and attacked by Royal Gendarmerie formations and their auxiliary forces. Women and children were also subject to abuse, and the tent was destroyed along with its contents, causing great distress and harm to the affected family.
In another incident of the Moroccan authorities’ targeting of human rights activists in Western Sahara, two prominent activists and members of the Committee for the Defense of the Self-Determination of the People of Western Sahara and members of ISOCAM, were arrested on February 28, 2023. Ahmad Hammad and Abdulaziz Abiay were apprehended the Moroccan police control point at the western entrance to the occupied city of Smara and held for more than 45 minutes before being allowed to enter. However, the harassment did not stop there, as they were followed by official and civilian police cars as well as informants on civilian motorcycles for several hours, until they returning to the city of El-Ayoun on the same day. This brazen disregard for the rights and safety of human rights defenders is yet another example of the Moroccan occupation’s oppressive tactics.
FreedomSun Defenders vehemently denounces and condemns the egregious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights principles detailed above. It is imperative that the international community take immediate and decisive action to put an end to this brutal escalation and ensure the protection of human rights in Western Sahara. We call on all nations and organizations to take a strong stance and demand that Morocco respect the basic rights and dignity of the Sahrawi people.