Mr. Mohamed Aujjar
Minister of Justice.
Ministère de la Justice et des Libertés
Place de la Mamounia, BP 1015, Rabat – Maroc

London, 05th of December 2017

We are writing to you from Adala UK (a UK-based human rights organisation – (https://adalauk.org) in order to express our consternation at learning that the administration of prisons Tiflt nº 1 and nº 2 does not meet mínimum security standards for prisoners. We would particularly like to raise the case of a number of Saharawi political prisoners who have entered into a hunger strike since their transfer from Arjat prison to Tiflt.
They are:

– Hassan Dah y Brahim El Ismaili, on hunger strike since 1st November 2017
– El Bachir Khadda, on hunger strike since the 6th November 2017
– Mohamed Lamine Haddi, on hunger strike since 20th November 2017

Through their hunger strike, the prisoners are demanding a transfer to a prison in Western Sahara, which is their right according to Article 76 of the 4th Geneva Convention. Their health is of course seriously suffering; however, their situation is met with complete indifference on the part of the prison administration and the Moroccan authorities.
We urge you to put an end to the serious violations which the prisoners are experiencing: They are not receiving any medical attention, they are kept in isolation without any explanation, and, in the case of at least one prisoner, they are held together with dangerous criminals. Furthermore, the prisons do not have the mínimum hygiene standards required for human habitation. This leads to many prisoners contracting diseases.

It is not the first time that we raising the issue of the maltreatment of Saharawi prisoners in Moroccan prisons; for example the Gdeim Izik group of prisoners have on many occasions exprienced both physical and psychological violence during their time in prison. We also ask you to take action to stop the suffering of the prisoners’ family members who are currently forced to travel between 8-21 hours to visit their loved ones.

Yours sincerely.

Mr. Nick Dylan
Adala UK`s Vice-president.

nickd@adalauk.org

+447506167722

 

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