Freedomsun Organization for the Protection of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders is greatly alarmed by the arbitrary measures being carried out by the Moroccan prison administration. We are particularly disturbed by the arbitrary deportation of Sahrawi political prisoners, which separates them from their families, and the accompanying harsh treatment and denial of their legitimate rights.
Freedomsun Defenders is sounding the alarm about the grave danger faced by Sahrawi political detainees, including human rights defenders. We urge the international community to take immediate action to protect them and ensure that international law is respected.
This is yet another indication of the repressive tactics that the Moroccan occupation authorities have been employing against the Sahrawi people for many years. The violations against them are intensifying as the authorities continue to suppress and stifle public freedoms in the occupied cities. It is evident that the Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan prisons, as well as their families, are among the primary targets of this campaign.
According to a statement released by the Association of Sahrawi Prisoners, numerous political detainees are being subjected to cruel and degrading treatment, along with systematic violations of their rights. These violations include policies of medical neglect, various forms of torture, and isolation in solitary confinement. Sahrawi Political Prisoners are also subjected to sudden searches and are deprived of family visits and communication over the phone. The Moroccan prison administration’s actions clearly aim to intensify the suffering of the detainees and deprive them of their most basic rights.
Freedomsun organization asserts that “ the occupying state is legally responsible for the violations committed against Sahrawi political detainees, as the occupying power “, according to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. The occupying state is obligated to adhere to the rules for the treatment of detainees contained in the Convention, as well as international declarations and covenants, such as the United Nations’ Mandela Rules of 1955 for the minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners. The ongoing policy of revenge and retaliation constitutes a clear determination to flout international law.
Freedomsun Organization is calling on the international community to fulfill its legal and moral responsibilities toward the Sahrawi people, including the Sahrawi Political Prisoners held in Moroccan prisons. We urge the international community to intervene and compel the occupying state to comply with the provisions of international law, and to ensure that Sahrawi Political Prisoners are granted their full rights.