On 20 February 2023, three imprisoned Saharawi students and human rights activists commenced on an open hunger strike protesting their deplorable prison conditions whilst held in the Moroccan prison, Ait Melloul 1. They are Abdelmoula El Hafidi, Mohammed Dadda and Al-Hussein Al-Bachir Brahim.
On Sunday 2 April at 6pm GMT/ 8pm CET the families of the imprisoned students will participate at a live streamed event together with local activists and their lawyer.
The event is being organized by the Coordination of the Families of the Group of El Uali and the Saharawi journalist organization Equipe Media.
https://www.youtube.com/live/ZcFHtU1ERS0?feature=share
YOUTUBE EQUIPE MEDIA
The imprisoned students turned to the last avenue of protest for political prisoners on 20 February in response to overcrowding, usage of isolation, deprivation of medical treatment and denial of the right to study. The students were demanding that their rights as political prisoners were respected, and to be transferred to prison in Western Sahara and closer to their families.
Al-Hussein ended his hunger strike on his 33rd day after he was transferred to Asfi prison on 24 March. Abdelmoula ended his hunger strike on 8 March after having received promises from the prison administration that his demands would be met. He was later and on 23 March arbitrary transferred to Asfi central prison, with his family learning about his location only on 27 March. Having ended his hunger strike on 28 February after being transferred to Tan Tan prison, Mohammed Dadda was forced to recommence on an open hunger strike due to his bad conditions on 21 March, and ending it again on 30 March.
In 2019, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded (A/HRC/WGAD/2019/67) that Abdelmoula El Hafidi and Mohammed Dadda — arrested back in 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison — are held on arbitrary detention as punishment for their student activism, requesting their immediate release. Abdelmoula and Mohammd remains imprisoned alongside Elkantawi Elbeur and Aziz El Ouahidi (applicants of same decision, also sentenced to 10 years).
The students were joined by Al-Hussein Al-Bachir Brahim in 2019 when he was deported from Spain without having his asylum application treated and immediately arrested upon his forcible return to Morocco, later sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison. His case led to out-cries by the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye and by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, who also included his case in the report on the long-term detention of human rights defenders (A/HRC/76/143). As of now, Morocco has taken no actions to implement the decision and recommendations and UN WGAD has reported reprisals against the students (see A/HRC/45/16).
The students are some of many Sahrawis who are targeted by Morocco through arbitrary detention and judicial harassment for their activism on Western Sahara, a non-self-governing territory south of Morocco and north of Mauritania that has been occupied by Morocco for 48 years. Latest published report refers that there are currently 40 Saharawi human rights defenders imprisoned within Moroccan jails, 30 of which has been sentenced to long term prison sentences.
المعتقلين السياسيين الصحراويين رفاق الشهيد الولي ينتقلون الى آخر وسيلة للإحتجاج.
في 20 فبراير 2023 ، بدأ ثلاثة من الطلبة الصحراويين المعتقلين السياسيين مجموعة رفاق الشهيد الولي، إضرابًا مفتوحًا عن الطعام احتجاجًا على ظروف سجنهم المزرية أثناء احتجازهم في السجن المغربي آيت ملول 01؛ وهم عبد المولى الحافيظي ومحمد دادة والحسين البشير ابراهيم.
يوم الأحد 2 أبريل في تمام الساعة 6 مساءً بتوقيت غرينتش / 8 مساءً بتوقيت وسط أوروبا ، ستشارك أسر الطلبة المعتقلين في لقاء مباشر مع نشطاء محليين وفريق المحامين.
الحدث تنظمه لجنة عائلات ورفاق الطلبة المعتقلين السياسيين الصحراويين رفاق الولي ووكالة إيكيب ميديا للأنباء.