Geneva (Switzerland), October 1, 2026 (SPS)- The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) has expressed deep concern over the health and safety of Sahrawi human rights defender Naâma Asfari, who has been on an open-ended hunger strike with eight fellow Gdeim Izik prisoners since September 23.
In a statement, the organization called on Moroccan authorities to take urgent measures to protect Asfari’s life and physical integrity and urged Morocco to implement recommendations and decisions issued by UN human rights mechanisms concerning the Gdeim Izik prisoners.
According to Asfari’s family, he confirmed during a phone call on September 29 that he had been transferred to a prison in Marrakesh and was continuing his hunger strike despite reported attempts by Moroccan authorities to force him to end it.
ISHR recalled that, in May 2026, the UN Committee against Torture reaffirmed its findings concerning the detention of Gdeim Izik-related activists, including allegations of arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, torture or ill-treatment during interrogation, and the use of coerced confessions in judicial proceedings.
The organization also recalled that Asfari previously undertook a 47-day hunger strike, from June 8 to July 24, 2026, protesting conditions of detention and Morocco’s failure to implement UN recommendations concerning him and his fellow prisoners.
Asfari initially suspended that strike following a visit by a delegation of Morocco’s prison administration, which reportedly pledged to transfer him to a prison closer to his family.
ISHR urged Morocco to comply without further delay with the recommendations of the UN Committee against Torture and the opinions of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concerning the Gdeim Izik prisoners.
Related blogs
