Introduction:
The cities of Western Sahara that are currently under occupation are still experiencing numerous and severe violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. These violations include the use of force to suppress peaceful demonstrations and the prevention of assembly by the Moroccan security services, restrictions on freedoms, mistreatment of Sahrawi civilians, political intimidation, arbitrary arrests, forced displacement, and other cruel practices carried out by the Moroccan occupation authorities.
The following report, produced by the Freedomsun Organization for the protection of Sahrawi human rights defenders, covers the humanitarian situation in the occupied Western Sahara for the year 2023. It provides details on various dimensions of the situation based on available information, numbers, and statistics collected by the Executive Office or monitored by its members.
It’s important to note that the numbers mentioned in the report and sourced from the aforementioned entities may not be entirely accurate or final. Additionally, it’s possible that some cases may have been unintentionally overlooked.
In a brief presentation of the human rights situation in occupied Western Sahara, this article highlights some of the systematic human rights violations that have occurred.
Sahrawi activists and human rights defenders are facing difficult and tragic conditions due to multiple violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They are being subjected to physical and verbal torture, which is prohibited under international law. Moroccan security services have been committing these violations since the uprising began in 2005. These actions have become normal and are justified by the authorities on the grounds of maintaining public order. Even peaceful gatherings by women carrying banners are dispersed using excessive force by the security forces.
The Moroccan occupation state has displayed persistent disregard for the international agreements and treaties it has ratified, resulting in numerous violations against supporters and defenders of Western Sahara’s independence. The international community’s silence on the matter has only served to embolden the Moroccan police in their repression of the Sahrawis.
To provide a detailed account of the situation, this report presents the events and facts that have transpired during the year 2023. The report is structured to cover the following topics in detail:
1. Facts and events.
2. The situation of Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan prisons
3. The restriction of workers and their persecution.
4. Restrictions on movement and travel.
5. The right to assemble, demonstrate, and form associations
6. A conclusion.
On January 16, 2023: The Occupation Court in occupied Laayoune issued a retaliatory ruling against Sahrawi human rights defender Jamila El Hussein Mojahed. She was sentenced to a two-month suspended sentence and fined 2,000 Moroccan dirhams.
On January 18, 2023, the Moroccan occupation court in occupied Laayoune handed down an unjust sentence against Sahrawi political prisoner Ahmatou Lekweri, sentencing him to twenty (20) years in prison.
On January 21st/22nd, 2023, a Sahrawi human rights delegation arriving from the Sahrawi refugee camps was assaulted by Moroccan intelligence services at the occupied Laayoune airport. The delegation was subjected to humiliating searches, and El Waira Sidid Ibrahim Khaia was beaten, sexually harassed, verbally assaulted, and subjected to various degrading practices. Additionally, attacks were made on other members of the delegation.
January 30, 2023: Sidi Ibrahim El Husseini was violently beaten by members of the occupation forces in the occupied city of Boujdour, resulting in serious injuries to his nose and head. He was then forcibly placed in a vehicle and taken to the police commission headquarters in the city, where he was denied admission due to his injuries. The severity of his condition is evident in his head and nose.
On February 9, 2023, Moroccan authorities assaulted human rights activist Soukina Jed Ahlou in Sid Ahmed Laaroussi, a town located 35 km from the occupied city of Smara. They confiscated and destroyed her tent and all its contents.
On February 16, 2023, Jamel Kridesh, a Sahrawi human rights activist, was arrested and presented before the Court of Appeal in Guelimim.
On March 2, 2023, a number of civilians, activists, media personalities, and Sahrawi human rights defenders were detained at the northern entrance of the occupied city of Laayoune. This was after they participated in a reception ceremony for the Sahrawi political prisoner named Yahya Mohamed El Hafedh Aiza. The ceremony took place in the city of Tan-Tan. The Moroccan occupation detained, arrested, searched, and tortured the participants at the checkpoint, turning it into a center for torture and interrogation.
On May 3, 2023, the residence of activist Matou Eli Salem was under siege, while activist El Dagja Lashgar an Magboula Boushria was attacked.
On May 10, 2023, a young man named Houssien Abdel Moujahed “Arabo” was arrested after staging a sit-in to demand his right to a decent life. However, he was later released.
On May 10, 2023, Mohamad El Bashir Botngiza‘s house in occupied Laayoune was attacked by occupation forces.
May 19, 2023: A group of Sahrawi political and human rights activists organized a peaceful demonstration on Smara Street in the occupied city of Laayoune, Western Sahara. The following individuals were attacked during the demonstration and suffered excessive repression: Salha Botengiza, Khadijatou Sidi Omar Al-Dawiya, Salka Aamar, Jamila Mojahid, Sumaya Mojahid, and El Khalifa Vani Regibi.
On June 3, 2023, A group of Moroccan police officers, both in civil and official uniforms, deported two Spanish lawyers at the Laayoune airport. The lawyers’ names are Inés Miranda and Dólares Travisso.
On June 15, 2023, former political prisoner Mohamed Lahbib Laghasmi is undergoing trial while on release. He is being charged with insulting an employee who was doing his job. This charge is commonly used to intimidate and deter Sahrawis from resisting the repressive Moroccan forces and to force them to submit and obey, even if it means compromising their dignity.
The Moroccan Prison Administration deepens the suffering of political prisoner Hussein El Bashir Ammador in (Safi Mall El Bargui) prison, despite his entry into an open hunger strike.
،On June 5, 2023, a group of Sahrawi women participated in an open sit-in to demand the right to housing in occupied Smara. As a result, the Court of First Instance issued a two-month suspended sentence against them. The women who were affected by this sentence are Toufa Lahsini, Khadija Arouka, L١aila El Mati, Oum Elbarka Mayara, and Aichatou Ayashi, Maimouna Abssa.
On June 7, 2023, Abdullah El Hafidh was arrested at a Royal Gendarmerie checkpoint in the town of Abteh. The reason for his arrest was a search warrant that alleged his participation in the celebrations of Algeria’s victory in the Arab Cup. He was taken to an investigating judge but was later released.
On June 15, 2023, Lala Hatra Aram in the case of the arrest,Othman Tanakha, a former political prisoner, and his wife, Fatima Haidara, along with her sister Khadija Haidara, were arrested and presented before the “Crown Prosecutor” at the Court of First Instance. They were charged with a set of fabricated and retaliatory charges, including insulting an employee. Earlier on May 23, 2023, Fatima Haidara had filed a complaint with the Moroccan judiciary about the violence and beating she suffered at the hands of Imad, a leader representing the occupation authority in Bir Kanduz while she was participating in a sit-in organized by Sahrawi women to demand their legitimate rights. The Moroccan occupation authorities, instead of investigating the violence, arrested the victims and brought them to trial on false charges, leaving the perpetrators unpunished.
On July 17, 2023: A serious attack on former prisoner of conscience Rashid El Saghir by three Moroccan settlers took place near his home in the city of Dakhla. He was subsequently transferred to the hospital in occupied Laayoune.
August 3, 2023: The Moroccan prison administration continues to punish Sahrawi politician Mohamed Lamine Abdin Hadi by keeping him in solitary confinement at Tiflet 2 prison, causing him to go on a 24-hour warning strike.
August 14, 2023: The Moroccan authorities moved Sahrawi political detainee Kantaoui Al-Barr from Bobzkaren prison to Loudaya prison in Marrakesh without explanation.
On September 4, 2023, Moroccan occupation forces surrounded several neighborhoods, squares, and streets in response to a call made by Sahrawi activists for peaceful demonstrations in the main streets of the occupied city of Laayoune. The forces also besieged the homes of several Sahrawi political activists. ( The home of Ahel Omar Dawiya, the home of the activist Maalouma Abih, the home of the journalist Salha Botengiza, the home of Bemba Lafkir, Mohamed Dadash, Mustafa Dah, Najat Akhnibila, El Kouria Amrezig, Hassan Delil, Ghli Ajena.)
A group of Sahrawi activists and freedom fighters were also intervened:
Sidi Mohamed Daddash, Dagja Leshgar, Fatimatou El Hirsh, Minna Abaali, Abderahman Ziou, Boushria Ben Talib, Ghali Ajna, El Waira Khaya, Saleha Boutengiza, Afaf Mohamed Fadel, Moustafa Adah, Hadhom Frik, Mohamed Bo Tabaa, Hajatna Baby, Maloma Abiha, Khalifa Raghibi, Raghiya Karkoub, Solaiman Abrih, Bashraya Lahbib, Ahmadou Amisa, Lamjed Lili, Ghela Ajna, Sokina Ndour, Saleh Raghibi, Hessna Dwayhi, Hamza Bani, Ambark Bani, Ahmed Aliat, Mohamed Barkan, Abdelkarim Ambirkat, Mariam Dambr, Saleka Lili.
On October 11, 2023, human rights defenders Hassna deweehi and Mina Abaali were physically assaulted and had their belongings taken from them in front of their home.
On October 14, 2023, the Moroccan occupation took control of desert lands in the occupied Dakhla region. These lands were then transferred to AZURA GROUP, a Moroccan-French agricultural company that is owned by Mr. Mohamed Lamine Semlali, a Sahrawi citizen living in the occupied Dakhla region. The lands are located in the (Tembhnanaten) region, opposite the beach of Puerto Rico.
On October 18, 2023, Moroccan authorities threatened to raid the home of Sahrawi human rights activist Soukina Jedahlo.
On October 24, 2023, Moroccan repressive forces used bulldozers to attack and destroy many homes and tents of Sahrawi citizens in the El Gaize area, located 3 km east of occupied Smara, buildings have been, affecting a group of Sahrawi citizens. This is seen as a new form of restriction on the freedom of Sahrawi citizens. Some of the buildings that have been destroyed belonged to well-known human rights activist Hamadi Naciri, Sheikh Sidi Boukhris, Rabab Bouila, Mohamad Bouhla, Matou mint daf.
On September 4, 2023, a group of human rights defenders were attacked during a peaceful demonstration demanding self-determination for the Sahrawi people while the UN envoy visited Western Sahara, (Sidi Mohemad Dadash, Dava Ahmed Babo, Boshria ben Taleb, Hassna Edewhi, Laarousi Taklebout, Mina Abaali , Salha Botengiza, Gali Ajna, Meriam Damber, Ziou Abderahmen)
On December 3, 2023, the artist Malianin Hadi was attacked while performing at an artistic event. The attack involved beatings and insults by individuals dressed as civilians who were later identified as members of the Moroccan police. The police also confiscated the band’s equipment. The attack occurred because the artist was performing songs that glorified the Polisario and the Sahrawi people.
On December 11th, 2023, Mina Abaali, a human rights defender and member of the Sahrawi Committee against the Moroccan Occupation, was harassed and provoked by the Moroccan occupation police at the occupied Laayoune Airport. Mina was subjected to an inspection in a humiliating and provocative manner.
2- The Situation of Sahrawi Political Detainees in Moroccan Prisons:
According to statements from family members of Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan prisons, these individuals are subjected to ill-treatment and are often placed in solitary confinement. Many of them reportedly suffer from medical neglect.
Prison Administration: Despite reports of major abuses committed against Sahrawi political detainees by Moroccan prison staff, no judicial or administrative measures have been taken to hold them accountable. The prison administration continues to employ a strategy of exhaustion and attrition, transferring detainees from Western Saharan cities to prisons in Moroccan cities, some as far as 1,250 km away. This exacerbates the psychological and material suffering of families, who have submitted numerous requests for the detainees to be relocated closer to them, but have received no response.
Independent Oversight: Freedomsun organization for protecting Sahrawi human rights defenders, calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan prisons and assess their treatment and detention conditions.
3- Restrictions on Workers and Persecution:
Sahrawi workers advocating for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people are being targeted, dismissed from their jobs, and subjected to various restrictions. Additionally, their children are being deprived of scholarships for university education and travel permits for studying away from their families.
The Freedomsun Organization, along with several local, national, and international human rights organizations, has received reports of employees being suspended or terminated from their jobs, having their salaries reduced, and being subject to the national recovery system as a means of controlling Sahrawis. This system is used to reward compliance and punish resistance to the Moroccan occupation. For instance, freedom fighter Abderahmane Ziou was dismissed from his job without legal basis and, despite winning a case in the Moroccan Administrative Court, had the decision overturned by the Court of Appeal.
In December 2023, the monthly salaries of female human rights defenders Meriem Mint Aaich, Amaiziza Hafedh Bouila, and Moulouda Khatri were suspended due to their involvement in receiving Sahrawi political prisoner Hamden Abaali, released on December 20, 2023.
4- Restrictions on Movement of Human Rights Defenders:
Since 2014, the Moroccan occupation authorities have increasingly restricted respected international human rights bodies, UN special rapporteurs, the media, and international observers from entering Western Sahara. Over 260 international observers of various nationalities have been expelled, severely limiting the documentation of human rights violations and advocacy for their redress.
These restrictions hamper the reality of human rights in Western Sahara and hinder the ability of jurists to document violations and advocate for justice. Although some cases are exempted from these restrictions, particularly those supportive of the Moroccan proposal, the general rule remains the exclusion of international human rights organizations from entering and leaving Western Saharan cities, with severe restrictions on the movement and communication of human rights defenders.
5- Right to Assemble and Form Associations:
The Moroccan occupation state continues to suppress freedom of expression, demonstration, and assembly, monitoring all Sahrawi human rights defenders and preventing communication between them. The Moroccan authorities go beyond preventing public demonstrations and intend to prevent gatherings in the homes of human rights defenders, considering any household with more than three human rights defenders an unacceptable gathering.
While Moroccan citizens are permitted to demonstrate in occupied cities, Sahrawi human rights defenders face restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Licensing the Sahrawi Association for Victims of Serious Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH) was merely a maneuver and propaganda tool, as the association’s license was revoked and its members were denied access to the headquarters.
Conclusion:
Sahrawi human rights activists and defenders face intimidation, defamation, imprisonment, torture, surveillance, and travel bans aimed at silencing them and preventing them from expressing dissent. The Moroccan occupation authorities reject any criticism of human rights abuses in Western Sahara and attack respected international human rights organizations that report on these violations. This systematic repression reflects the authorities’ unwillingness to address human rights concerns or allow dissenting voices to be heard.