Geneva (UN Human Rights Council) 17 September 2025 (SPS)– Norwegian Human Rights lawyer Ms. Tone Sørfonn Moe, called for the immediate release of Sahrawi political prisoners, in a statement to the Saharawi Press Service (SPS) today, reacting to the report presented in Geneva by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in which the group mentioned Sahrawi political prisoners.
“Morocco continues to ignore UN decisions and punish those who dare to seek justice,” Ms. Moe said, stressing that the report highlighted emblematic cases such as those of El-Hussein Bachir Brahim and the Gdeim Izik group.
These Moroccan human rights violations, she noted, “illustrate a consistent pattern in Western Sahara, where peaceful resistance is met with torture, unfair trials, and lengthy prison terms.”
Ms. Moe urged the Human Rights Council and its Member States to respond decisively to the findings, considering that “the international community must call for the immediate release of Sahrawi political prisoners, condemn the use of arbitrary detention as a tool of repression, and ensure accountability for violations.”
Her remarks follow renewed appeals from international rights organizations and observers for Morocco to respect its obligations under international law and to end the repression of Sahrawi human rights activists.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention presented its report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva Today, calling for the release of detainees and highlighting a troubling pattern where some states, including Morocco, refuse to respect or implement the group’s decisions, while those who seek justice—prisoners, their families, and victims of violations—often face reprisals for cooperating with UN mechanisms.
Western Sahara featured prominently in the working group’s report. Two emblematic cases were included: that of the young Sahrawi student and human rights defender El-Hussein Bachir Brahim, serving a 12-year sentence following an unfair trial, and the long-standing case of the Gdeim Izik group, who continue to suffer reprisals for their cooperation with the UN.
These cases echo a broader pattern of criminalizing dissent in Western Sahara, where arbitrary detention has become a systematic policy and where political, civil, cultural and economic rights are systematically violated by the occupying power, Morocco. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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