afrol News, 2 July - Western Sahara civil society activists in Morocco recently have been tried and imprisoned on apparently politically motivated charges, according to international human rights groups. Several had reported being tortured or ill-treated during detention.

The human rights group Amnesty International has included several Sahrawi activists operating in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara in its so-called "Worldwide Appeals" for the month of July. The appeals are sent to the organisation's members, asking them to write letters urging government to stop oppressive practices.

The group reports that the Sahrawi activists Dkhil Moussaoui and Bazid Salek have been charged with public order offences. They were accused of instigating outbreaks of violence in El Aaiun, Western Sahara, between 2000 and 2002.

Bazid Salek was sentenced on 12 March 2003 to 10 years' imprisonment. "His conviction was based solely on confessions that he later withdrew in court, alleging that they were extracted under duress," Amnesty noted. Dkhil Moussaoui was sentenced on 25 June to one year in prison.

In another case, Ahmed Nasiri on 27 November 2002 had been sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment. He was reportedly beaten in police custody in an attempt to force him to sign police statements admitting he had instigated violence at an anti-government protest in 2001.

- Despite his refusal to sign them, the statements were the sole basis for his conviction, Amnesty said. "No investigations are known to have been carried out into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment raised by Bazid Salek and Ahmed Nasiri."

Until their prosecution, Amnesty said it had "no reason to believe that Bazid Salek, Dkhil Moussaoui and Ahmed Nasiri had used or advocated violence." The only evidence linking Bazid Salek and Ahmed Nasiri to acts of violence was confessions, which were allegedly extracted under duress. The group therefore said it believed that "all three men may be prisoners of conscience."

All three men are members of the Western Sahara branch of the Forum for Truth and Justice, an independent association set up in 1999 to campaign for the rights of victims and families of victims of torture, "disappearances" and other human rights violations. Many of its members have been targeted by the Moroccan authorities.

In recent months, Western Saharan civil society activists have faced increasing harassment and intimidation from the Moroccan authorities, according to Amnesty.

- Some have been held for questioning about their support for the independence of Western Sahara, the group noted. Western Sahara is a disputed territory occupied and annexed by Morocco but also claimed by the Polisario Front, a self-proclaimed government-in-exile recognised by the UN as the rightful representative of the Sahrawi people.

The Amnesty appeal to its members urges them to write to Morocco's Minister of Justice, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, calling on the authorities "to investigate the allegations of torture and ill-treatment; to release Bazid Salek, Dkhil Moussaoui and Ahmed Nasiri immediately unless they are promptly tried according to fair trial standards; and to end the harassment of other Western Saharan activists for their peaceful human rights work."

By staff writer

© afrol News

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