Quito, July 13, 2026 (SPS) – A coalition of Ecuadorian human rights and social organizations has called on the Moroccan occupation authorities to end what it described as the arbitrary and unlawful detention of Sahrawi political prisoner Naâma Asfari and his fellow detainees from the Gdeim Izik Group.
In a statement issued on Monday, the organizations expressed deep concern over the serious deterioration of Asfari's health. The Sahrawi political prisoner has been on a hunger strike for nearly a month in Kenitra Prison, Morocco.
The signatories to the statement include the International Association of Lawyers for Western Sahara, the Ecuadorian Association of Friendship with the Sahrawi People, the Permanent Committee for the Defense of Human Rights, and the Segundo Montes Human Rights Documentation Center.
The organizations reaffirmed their support for the appeal made by numerous national, regional, and international human rights organizations urging United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene and help bring an end to what they described as tragic humanitarian conditions.
