Rome (Italy) 5 July 2026 (SPS) – The situation of Sahrawi political prisoners held in Moroccan prisons continues to raise growing concern in Italy, where political representatives and solidarity organizations have stepped up their efforts to demand urgent action to safeguard the prisoners' physical well-being and ensure respect for their fundamental rights.
In this context, Laura Boldrini, Chair of the Permanent Committee on Human Rights of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, and Stefano Vaccari, President of the Parliamentary Friendship Group with the Sahrawi People, submitted a parliamentary question to the Italian Government, calling for immediate action in response to the serious deterioration of the conditions of Sahrawi political prisoners who are engaged in an open-ended hunger strike in Moroccan occupation prisons.
The parliamentary initiative urges the Italian Government to use all available diplomatic and multilateral channels to demand respect for the prisoners' human rights, ensure their access to independent medical care, and guarantee compliance with international law.
The initiative was launched by the Working Group on Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, in coordination with the Polisario Front Representation in Italy and the Italian Solidarity Network with the Sahrawi People, following the alarming deterioration of the health condition of the hunger-striking prisoners.
Sahrawi political prisoner Naama Asfari began an open-ended hunger strike on June 8 at Kenitra prison in Morocco to protest the serious human rights violations suffered by Sahrawi political prisoners.
Since June 30, several other prisoners have joined the hunger strike, heightening concerns over the grave risks to their lives.
Italian organizations stressed that Sahrawi political prisoners continue to endure prolonged solitary confinement, severe restrictions on communication with their families, denial of adequate medical care, and other practices that violate international human rights conventions.
They also recalled that several United Nations human rights mechanisms, including the Committee against Torture, have repeatedly expressed concern over reported violations against Sahrawi political prisoners and have called on the Kingdom of Morocco to fulfill its international obligations.
As part of the campaign, a letter was also addressed to the Secretariat of State of the Holy See of Pope Leo XIV, requesting humanitarian intervention on behalf of the hunger strikers to ensure respect for their dignity, their right to independent medical care, and the protection of their lives.
At the same time, Italian organizations relaunched the "ORA LIBERI" ("Freedom Now") campaign, addressed to institutions, civil society organizations, and citizens, with the aim of strengthening international solidarity, calling for the release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, and ensuring respect for human rights in the occupied cities of Western Sahara.
In their concluding statement, the organizations leading the campaign renewed their appeal to the United Nations, the European Union, and the international community to assume their responsibilities and act urgently to protect the lives of Sahrawi political prisoners and put an end to the serious human rights violations committed by the Moroccan occupying power. (SPS)
TR/090/500/60 (SPS)
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