UN Urges Morocco to Release Unlawfully Detained Activists in “Gdeim Izik” Camp
BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- After more than a decade of serving “harsh sentences in Moroccan prisons,” the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called on Morocco to immediately release approximately 20 Sahrawi activists, determining that “they are all held unlawfully.”
Families of the detained Sahrawi activists from the “Gdeim Izik” group welcomed the decision of the UN Working Group, marking 13 years of imprisonment with sentences ranging from 20 years to life.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention demanded the immediate release of around 20 Sahrawi activists, asserting that “they are all held unlawfully after more than a decade of serving harsh sentences in Moroccan prisons.”
In a statement to “Hawamich,” Abdelrahmane Zyou, a former detainee within the same group released in 2013 after being sentenced by an unjust court, stated that “the decision resulted from a complaint filed by the Association for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan Prisons, in collaboration with lawyers from Norway and France.”
Zyou, the head of the “Association for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan Prisons,” emphasized that “this decision validates our demands for the release of this group, which was arbitrarily arrested and did not receive a fair trial. Instead, they faced an unjust trial fraught with numerous violations, including torture and coerced confessions used as a means of condemnation and proof, in addition to disregarding all legal procedures and guarantees related to a fair trial.”
The spokesperson added, “The trials of this group were unfair, and that’s why the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called on Morocco as a member state of the Human Rights Council to release the group immediately.”
Zyou views this decision as a “historic ruling that vindicates the group and confirms what we have been saying for years, that the ‘Gdeim Izik’ group are political prisoners and victims of a system that uses a non-independent judiciary to settle political scores with Sahrawi political detainees.”
Serious Violations: Deprivation of Defense and Coerced Confessions in “Gdeim Izik” Case
The “Gdeim Izik” group, consisting of Sahrawi journalists and human rights defenders who were part of a dialogue committee with government representatives during a social movement in Laayoune, has been named after the region that witnessed protests. The camp was established in 2010, igniting the spark of the Arab Spring, according to statements by the renowned American philosopher Noam Chomsky.
In their appeal for the release of the detainees, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention highlighted “serious violations committed by Morocco,” including the denial of the right to access legal defense, the extraction of confessions under torture, and the lack of impartiality and independence in the trials.
The Working Group concluded that all these actions “indicate their arbitrary deprivation of freedom since their arrest in 2010.”
The UN Working Group urged Morocco to “ensure their compensation” and called on the Kingdom to “investigate the events leading to arbitrary deprivation of freedom and take action against those responsible.”
Abdelsalam Amar, President of the “Association of Sahrawi Prisoners and Missing Persons,” views the decision as a “significant confirmation of observations already expressed by many trial observers, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and several United Nations special rapporteurs regarding the ‘Gdeim Izik’ prisoners.”
“We urge all countries and entities to exert pressure on Morocco to implement this decision and release the prisoners,” added Amar.
In addition to considering the detention of these activists as arbitrary, the UN Working Group expressed deep concern about numerous cases of arbitrary arrests in the Western Sahara.
According to Amar, the decision reiterates “concerns expressed by the UN Committee Against Torture and many UN special rapporteurs regarding the ‘Gdeim Izik’ prisoners.”
Pre-arrest Violence and Detention: UN Award-Winning Rights Activist Highlights Injustices in Gdeim Izik Case
In a phone interview, Khadija Ryadi, a human rights activist and former president of AMDH who received the UN Human Rights Award on December 10, 2013, affirmed that the Moroccan Association for Human Rights had previously urged the release of the Gdeim Izik detainees before the UN Working Group deemed their detention arbitrary. Ryadi stated that the association had closely monitored the case from the beginning.
The association had investigated the 2010 events in Gdeim Izik, sending a committee to compile a report revealing numerous violations by Moroccan authorities against the protestors and activists. Ryadi emphasized that the detainees faced violence even before their arrest.
Ryadi detailed that the association had released a comprehensive report with findings and recommendations sent to the press, urging the Moroccan government to release the detainees and investigate all violations during the dispersal of the protest. The report highlighted that the government’s actions did not adhere to international standards for the use of public force or the rights of those present at the assembly.
The human rights activist underscored that during the trial, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights observed violations of fair trial standards, both in military court, which she argued was inappropriate for civilian trials, and during the subsequent retrial in a civilian court. Violations included torture, coerced confessions, lack of respect for the right to defense, and the expulsion of defense lawyers. Ryadi mentioned that some lawyers were even expelled for defending the detainees.
Moreover, Ryadi expressed concern over the absence of evidence related to the charges, the arbitrary nature of the arrests, and the mistreatment of one detainee, Neama Asfari, who faced charges despite being in custody before the events. She concluded by reaffirming the association’s longstanding demand for the release of these detainees, considering them prisoners of conscience and political prisoners.
It’s noteworthy that the UN Committee Against Torture has previously issued five decisions condemning torture and the use of confessions obtained under duress as the basis for the continued imprisonment of Gdeim Izik detainees. As families continue advocating for their release after 13 years, most of them remain separated from their loved ones, confined in various prisons across Morocco.
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