El Aaiún (Occupied Western Sahara), July 21, 2026 (SPS) – Sahrawi civilian prisoner Hametou Lakouiri began a 48-hour warning hunger strike on Monday inside the local prison in Safi, in a gesture of solidarity with Sahrawi civilian prisoner Naâma Asfari, who has been on an open-ended hunger strike since June 8, 2026, as well as with all Sahrawi civilian prisoners held in Moroccan prisons.
The warning hunger strike is also a protest against the ill-treatment, restrictions, and discriminatory practices allegedly imposed on him by the Moroccan Prison Administration. These include the authorities' insistence on holding him in shared cells with inmates convicted of ordinary criminal offenses, including murderers and other criminals, in what he considers a blatant violation of international human rights standards, particularly the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
It is worth noting that Sahrawi civilian prisoner Hametou Lakouiri is currently serving an unjust 20-year prison sentence handed down following an unfair trial based on fabricated charges that failed to meet the most basic guarantees of a fair trial as stipulated in international human rights instruments.
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