Salah Labsir is from the city of Smara in the occupied territories of Western Sahara. His family still lives there. Between 2005 – 2013 he worked as a media correspondent. At the same time, he actively participated in peaceful demonstrations for the self-determination of Western Sahara. His political opinions are...
The first-ever side-event on Western Sahara was hosted by the Support Group on Western Sahara on Wednesday 1st March 2017 during the 34th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. The meeting was moderated by Mr Gianfranco Fattorini of the American Association of Jurists (AAJ). The Namibian Ambassador, Sabine Böhlke-Müller,...
During his visit to Morocco and Western Sahara in September 2012, Juan Méndez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, signalled that public prosecutors and judges rarely investigate complaints which allege the use of torture to obtain evidence or confessions during the early stages of interrogations. (more…)
Throughout 2016, Adala UK recorded 85 cases of arbitrary expulsion of international observers (including human rights defenders and journalists) from Western Sahara by Morocco. They were accused of 'disturbing public order' for their attempts to observe the situation regarding human rights. (more…)
The arrest and maltreatment of Saharawis by the Moroccan police goes against the commitment to respecting the rights of the child and related covenants. Anass Oamri, an eleven year old boy, was detained on 18 January, taken from his family in El Aaiún, the capital of Western Sahara and spent...
Sahrawi prisoners in Moroccan prisons continue to face a daily struggle for survival, living in overcrowded cells without ventilation where temperatures can rise to 44 ºC during the summer months. Prisoners are regularly abused, both mentally and physically, by prison guards, in some cases leading to death. Such incidences are...
On 20th November 2016, the Moroccan police arrested 3 minors in El Aiun, bringing the number of detained minors to 24 in the last 3 months of 2016. The 3 youngsters Jamal Salami, Hajoub El Mojahid and El Bashir Babait were interrogated in police custody and subjected to maltreatment before...
On July 27, Morocco's High Court nullified the unfair sentences previously issued by the military court to 24 Saharawi activists. They face false charges for which they will potentially face very long sentences. On Monday 26 December, a court in Salé (Morocco) postponed the trial of all 24 – known...
Two lawyers, José Revert Calabuig and Nieves Cubas Armas, representatives of the General Council of the Spanish Legal Profession who had planned to visit, as international observers, the trial on 21 December of Saharawi activist Ali Saadouni and his fellow activists in El Aaiún. They were expelled from the capital...
A week long series of meetings in Washington, D.C. and New York City, focusing on the abuse of the human rights of Saharawi people in Western Sahara by Moroccan security forces, concluded today. Our delegation held successful discussions with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights in the US capital, sharing common...