The Letter:

Urgent action required

We very much hope for your immediate and urgent intervention in order to save the lives of the following Saharawi political prisoners who have been on hunger strike since 1 March 2012.

Mahjub Aulad Sheikh

Atiku Bray

Hasan Elwali

Brai Abdlaziz

Sharif Nasiri

We also urge you to put pressure on the Moroccan State to free this group of political prisoners from Dakhla, the second biggest city in Western Saharan, as well as all other Saharawi political prisoners.

This group of five is held in the “Black Prison” in Laayoune, the occupied capital city of Western Sahara. Their hunger strike is a sign of protest against the tragic situation of their country under Moroccan occupation. The prisoners have been deprived of their fundamental human rights, including not being allowed a fair trial, as dictated by international law.

The political prisoners are part of a group of 30 who were detained following peaceful protests in the occupied city of Dakhla between 25 and 27 September 2011 after the Moroccan authorities used militias armed with chains, knives, stones, batons to break up the protests. These militias live in the Wakala Camp in Dakhla and were recruited in 1991 from within Moroccan cities and villages in order to participate in the process of identification under the supervision of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). They have since been used to attack Saharawi civilians and their possessions.

We await your prompt action and intervention.

Yours faithfully,

on behalf of:

ADALA UK

Human Rights for Western Sahara

adalauk@hotmail.com

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