SAHARA PRESSE SERVICE

El Aaiun (occupied territories), 04/09/2005 (SPS) The families of the 37 Saharawi political prisoners, in hunger strike since last August the 8 in Moroccan prisons, launched an appeal asking all lovers of justice to help their sons, who are "dying slowly under Moroccan authorities of occupation’s complete indifference".

"What is the crime our sons committed that pushed the UN, the European Union, the USA, and all the countries of the world to keep silent vis-à-vis this crime that occurs in front of their eyes", wondered the families in a press release publicised Sunday.

"Our sons did only demonstrate, peacefully, to claim for a right that is guaranteed by the UN’s Charter: the right of peoples’ to govern themselves", they recalled, underlining that some of the detainees "did not participate to any demonstration", such as Ali Salem Tamek, Moutawakil, Lidri, Noumria and Hmad Hamad.

The presss release noted that El Hussein Lidri "has lost the sense of touch, his weight dangerously decreased, he can no more move and he barely can walk because of the torture he was subjected to beside Brahim Noumria by Moroccan political police during the first days of their detention in (the torture centre) PC CMI in El Aaiun".

"Noumria and El Moutawail suffer from repeated heart attacks. The latter lost his ability to walk these last days, while Larbi Massoud sufers from terrible stomach-aches", the press release stressed. (SPS)

SPS
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES/MOROCCO/TAMEK/APPEAL

Moroccan political class: "The silence-conspiracy", Tamek writes

Ait Melloul (Morocco), 04/09/2005 (SPS) Saharawi human rights activist, Ali Salem Tamek, blamed the Moroccan political class for its new "silence-conspiracy", regarding the repression, the arbitrariness, iniquitous trials, arrests and deportations besides its indifference vis-à-vis the crimes committed by the Moroccan authorities of occupation in Western Sahara.

Here is the translation from Arabic to English of the complete text of the letter, of which SPS received a copy.
"Open letter- Clarification:

The Moroccan political elite and the conspiracy again

The group of the Saharawi political prisoners who remain detained, since 21 May 2005, at the Dark Prison in La Aaiún in Western Sahara, and Ait Melloul (Agadir) and Okasha (Casablanca) in Morocco, together with other detainees who have been jailed for different reasons and terms, are all prisoners of conscience according to well-known international and Moroccan human rights organisations including: Amnesty International, International Federation for Human Rights, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Moroccan Association for Human Rights, and the Moroccan Forum for Truth and Justice.

The group includes former disappeared and prisoners of conscience, human rights activists, trade unionists and political prisoners. Some have responsibilities in well-known Moroccan trade unions and human rights organisations; others have been awarded international prizes for their long-standing struggle for human rights and participation in international forums on human rights. They have earned this credit not only from international bodies but also from Moroccan official institutions such as the Consultative Council for Human rights, the former Commission on Forced Disappearance and Arbitrary Detention and the present Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

In protest against the repressive practices pursued against them by the Moroccan State, including arbitrary and illegal detention, unfair court trails, unfair sentences, torture, kidnapping and forced deportation to Moroccan jails as well as the denial of their fundamental rights sanctioned by all conventions to which Morocco is a party, and after having exhausted all possibilities for drawing attention to their situation, the Saharawi prisoners of conscience went on an open-ended collective hunger strike, since 3 August 2005, in all prisons in La Aaiún in Western Sahara and Ait-Melloul, and Okasha in Morocco. Their demands are twofold: political and material.

We highly appreciate the overwhelming expressions of solidarity that have been expressed during the past two weeks following the beginning of the hunger strike, and the acts of protest exhibited in the launching of appeals, the establishment of follow-up committees, collective hunger strikes, and sits-in in front of the official buildings and Moroccan embassies and consulates abroad, which all were denouncing the indifference of the Moroccan authorities and Moroccan Ministry of Justice as to the demands of the hunger strikers, as well as the worldwide appeals for saving the lives of the Saharawi prisoners of conscience. We would like to note the reluctance on the part of the Moroccan State to engage in any serious and responsible dialogue with the committee that was delegated by the Saharawi hunger strikers. More seriously, it continues to turn its back on the international appeals, while being completely oblivious to the serious consequences that the hunger strike might have on the strikers’ health. Some of them have already lost consciousness whereas many still suffer from chronic diseases resulting from years of imprisonment and torture. Despite all this, the jail administrations of the Dark Prison in La Aaiún and ofAit-Melloul and Okasha in Morocco continue to deny the seriously ill detainees to be hospitalised. In what follows, we mention just some cases in point.

- Human rights activist: Aminatou Haidar: she suffers from serious injuries on the head resulting from the torture to which she was subjected on 17 June 2005, as well as anaemia, intestines and back pain resulting from the years of disappearance between 1987 and 1991. After her release, she had to be operated on the back in a very delicate operation known as L4.

- Human rights activist Hmad Hamad: he suffers from serious injuries resulting from the torture to which he was subjected on 17 June 2005 especially in his left leg which might be amputated if he does not receive the necessary medical care; he also suffers from back pain and kidneys disease as result of his years of disappearance.

- Human rights Lidri Hossein: he suffers from serious head and hand injuries especially the right hand that has lost the touch sense as a result of the torture to which he was subjected on 17 May 2005, and during his time in custody at the secret detention centre SISIMI.

- Human rights activist Brahim Noumrya: he suffers form the consequences of torture to which he was subjected during his time in custody at the secret detention centre SISIMI as well as digestion disturbances resulting from the 5 times in which he was subject to disappearance

- Human rights activist Hossein Ndour: he suffers from a broken left arm as a result of torture, which might be amputated due to the indifference of the Moroccan jail administration.

- Political prisoner Abdelaziz Day: he suffers from a chronic heart disease resulting from torture, which has made him lose consciousness on many occasions.

- Political prisoner Mahmoud Moustafa Lehdad: he suffers from chronic diseases including a kidney disease for which he needs to be operated according to doctors.

- Political prisoner Sidi Mohamed Alouatt: he is a physically handicapped and suffers from torture to which he was subjected during his time in custody.

- Political prisoner Bouaamoud Mohamed Salem: he suffers from asthma.

- Political prisoner Lehssan Zreigannatt: he suffers from head diseases which has caused him to lose consciousness on many occasions.

Besides, the other Saharawi political prisoners who have lost consciousness several times are: Abd-Arrahmane Bougarfa, Hassana Makki, Yaya Bachir, Daoudy Omar, Hamady El-Karcha, Bouchama Naffaâ, El-wali Amidan, Baba El-araby, El-hafad Tawbaly, Hamma Chreyah, Lehsen Zreigannatt, Mahmoud Mustafa Lehdad, Sidi Mohamed Alwatt, Hassanna El-heirech, El-mousawi Sidahmed, Chteiwi Mahjoub and Bella Sidi Mohamed.

The group of the human rights activists including El- Moutawakil and his companions are dying slowly under a complete blockade in Okasha jail in Casablanca in Morocco. They have been put in cells along with common law prisoners and are being deprived from their fundamental rights such as family visits.

They are subjected to sinister vindictive practices on account of their contribution as human rights activists to revealing the crimes against humanity that have been committed by the Moroccan State against the Saharawi civilians during three decades of armed conflict, as well as the gross human rights violations systematically practiced during the peaceful uprising starting in May 2005.

The kidnapping and detention campaigns that targeted the Saharawi human rights activists were preceded by a racist and chauvinist campaign led by the Moroccan Mahkzen and with the support of political parties and their leaders and bodies working supposedly for human rights such as the Justice and Reconciliation Commission and the Consultative Council for Human Rights, which called publicly for detaining the Saharawi human rights activists on account of their attempts to expose their misinformation campaigns aimed at covering up the political oppression practiced against the Saharawis.

Along with the Saharawi national and international public opinion, we wonder why the Moroccan political elite has remained silent, expect the Democratic Path Party, as to the atrocities committed on daily basis against the Saharawi civilians for having demonstrated peacefully, since 21 May, to demand the holding of a self-determination referendum in accordance with international legality.

The silence-conspiracy exhibited by the Moroccan political elite, some human rights organisations affiliated with some political parties, the official news agency, and partisan and co-opted media calls to mind the systematic silence and blessing expressed by those forces to the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Moroccan regime when it bombarded Saharawi towns and villages, poisoned their water sources an used napalm and phosphorus..... All these forces did not lift a finger and behaved just like the Moroccan State in denying the existence of Saharawi disappeared whose fate was not known until 1991 as a result of international pressure, and who had to spend 17 years in secret detention centres such as Galaat Magouna, Agdz, Sekoura, Dareb Moulay Chrif and Sisimi in Layoune; until now, there remain 526 disappeared as confirmed by Amnesty International. Where are those voices and bodies that claim defending democracy and were mobilised for the release of the Moroccan POWs held by the Frente POLISARIO? Have they forgotten that democracy also entails the staunch defence of those who are detained on account of their peaceful demonstration and _expression of an opinion that may be different from the official stance of the Moroccan regime as to the question of Western Sahara?

Democracy does not lend itself to selectivity and is not based on political parochial calculations; it goes beyond political differences, and seeks to defend legitimate rights. To oppose us on account of our ethnic belonging is a very serious matter indeed.

On behalf of all Saharawi prisoners of conscience, we would like to congratulate the brotherly Moroccan people for the release of the last Moroccan POWs; we also congratulate their families for the return of their beloved ones. We would also like to express our support and to congratulate the Frente POLISARIO for this historic and humanitarian decision, while hoping that the international democratic and human rights movement will act for the release of the remaining Saharawi POWs and the accounting for the disappeared ones.

The democrats and honourable men and women in Morocco and over the world cannot afford to see the families of the released Moroccan POWs hailing the return of their beloved ones, whereas the families of the Saharawi POWs and disappeared remain engulfed in deep sorrow.

We would like to salute warmly the follow-up committee on hunger strike in Spain and the large solidarity movement with our legitimate struggle from inside the Moroccan jails, and also the Democratic Path Party and the Moroccan Human Rights Association for their initiative of sending a fact-finding mission to La Aaiún in Western Sahara, while denouncing the fact that they were not allowed to visit our fellows in the Dark Prison in La Aaiún. We would also like to salute the Third Generation Association and some independent media in Morocco and the democratic militant and journalist Ali Lemrabat, and all those who have supported us in our struggle. We would like to call upon peace-loving and democratic and human rights forces to intervene urgently to save the lives of the fellows of Aminatou Haidar, Moahmed El-Moutawakil, Bachir Yaya, Sidi Mohamed Alwatt, in order to avoid the human tragedy experienced by the Saharawis in Agdz, Magouna, Rish, Dareb Moulay Chrif, Sekour and Sisimi .

Spokesperson and negotiator on behalf of the Saharawi prisoners of conscience in the jails of La Aaiún, Western Sahara, and Ait-Melloul and Okasha in Morocco

The Saharawi prisoner of conscience: Ali Salem Tamek

Prison number: 6375

Local Prison Ait-Melloul, Agadir, Morocco.

27 August 2005". (SPS)

010/090/100/MAZ/TRD 042030 sept 05 SPS

SPS
OCCUIED TERRITORIES/POLITICAL PRISONERS/LAWYERS

The defence consider Moroccan State as responsible for the deterioration of Saharawi political detainees’ state of health

El Aaiun (occupied territories), 04/09/2005 (SPS) The lawyers of the 4 Saharawi activists, Brahim Noumria, Lidri El Houssein, El Arbi Messoud et Moutawakil Mohamed detained in Moroccan prisons since last July the 18 without trial, considered that the Moroccan State is the only responsible for the repercussions that may result from the unlimited hungfer strike the 4 political detainees are undertaking since last August the 9th.

In a press release to the public opinion Lawyer Challouk Abdellah, Representative of the defence of the 4 activists, Lawyers Rgueibi Lehbib, Antar Louaffi and Hassan Benman, considered that the Moroccan State an its Ministry of Justice are the only responsible for the illegal abduction and the deteriorating state of health of the prisoners.

Here is the complete text of the press release, translated from Arabic:

Statement from the defence of the Saharawi detainees

On 31 August 2005, at 10:45 hours, we entered the penitentiary Oukasha to carry out our professional duty in communicating with our clients who were transferred extrajudicially on 1 August 2005. They are Arbi Massoud, Houssein Idiri, Mohamed Moutawakil and Brahim Noumria.

We were received by the officer in charge of the defence’s ward, to whom we gave an authorisation of the visit. However, he began to seek pretexts to thwart our visit. First, he stated that the authorisations should have been issued by the King’s General Prosecutor in Casa Blanca. When he realised that we would not leave the place for that reason, he advanced another argument to the effect that, although the authorisations may be valid as affirmed by the Deputy General Prosecutor in Casa Blanca, they were issued by the Investigation Judge and dated 1 August 2005, and the transferred detainees only arrived to the penitentiary Oukasha on 2 August 2005. It should be noted that the authorisations state verbatim, visit to the detainees “wherever they are.”

Despite all this, we reaffirmed that the Investigation Judge was the only legally competent authority to issue any decision in this case, and that, after the detainees had been transferred, there was no legal delegation of any of the Judge’s competences in this case.

When the officer failed in convincing us, the King’s Deputy General Prosecutor contacted us and explained to us that the issue was about a decision taken in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice and the Investigation Judge in La Aaiún, and that the date of the authorisation was the problem.

When we fulfilled this “requirement”, other obstacles were put in our way. Sometimes it was argued that the room was too small for all detainees, and sometimes it the security that was the issue. At last, we managed to visit the detainees at 13:50 hours.

When we were ushered in the visit hall, we were requested to leave our briefcases out, but we declined.

Whenever there appeared more “obstacles” in the way of the visit, the discussion would lead us to the point of a possible withdrawal. As we were leaving the penitentiary of Oukasha, the Ministry of Justice decaled in “Bayan-hagiga”, in its reference to the detainee Ali Salem Tamek, that the hunger strikes of the other detainees was a mere sham.

Therefore, we declare to the public opinion that:

- The transfer of the five detainees—Arbi Massoud, Houssein Idiri, Mohamed Moutawakil, Brahim Noumria and Ali Salem Tamek—was an arbitrary and extrajudicial one that was conducted under inhuman conditions.

- The “obstacles” that were put in our way as defence are to be added to the violations associated with this case that has been stripped of its legal character, where the conditions for a fair trial are completely absent.

- The “Bayan-hagiga” issued by the Ministry of Justice has no resemblance to reality as to the four detainees—Arbi Massoud, Houssein Idiri, Mohamed Moutawakil and Brahim Noumria—who are detained at the penitentiary Oukasha, and have been on a hunger strike since 9 August 2005. As we have witnessed, they have become veritable ghosts. Furthermore, the Administration informed us that the health situation of Brahim Noumria is deteriorated very much as a consequence of the hunger strike. For this reason, he came late to the visit and it appeared that his weight had dropped to 45 Kg. Besides, when the hunger strike began, the penitentiary staff would gauge the detainee’s blood pressure, but the strikers have lately declined to accept this procedure.

- The human rights institutions confirmed the hunger strike and have issued statements accordingly.

- If the transfer was arbitrary, the statement of the Ministry of Justice was devoid of any fact and sought to legalise the transfer. The Minister of Justice should respond to the demands of the hunger strikers and transfer them back to the detention centre in La Aaiún to be tried there in accordance with the law in place.

- Finally, we launch an appeal to all conscientious people to defend the respect for the right to have a fair trail, the right to life and free expression.

Dr. Abdallah Shalouk, representative of the defence of the detainees,

Dr. Regheibi,

Dr. Antar Wafi,

Dr. Hassan Benman.“. (SPS)

060/090/000/ALG 042050 sept 05 SPS