Geneva (Switzerland), September 17, 2025 (SPS) – The Secretary of the Sahrawi Association for the Protection of Prisoners in Moroccan Prisons, Hassana Abba Moulai Dah, stressed in a statement to the SPS that the continued disregard by the Moroccan occupying state of the decisions of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, particularly regarding the “Gdeim Izik” group, consolidates the reality of arbitrary detention and reveals the absence of any legal or human rights grounds for the ongoing suffering of Sahrawi political prisoners.
This came on the sidelines of the current session of the Human Rights Council, where the UN report on arbitrary detention and acts of reprisal in several countries was discussed, including the case of the Sahrawi political prisoners of the “Gdeim Izik” group. The report confirmed that they were subjected to arbitrary detention and called on Morocco to release them immediately and compensate them for the harm they suffered.
The report further explained that the UN Working Group will continue to follow up on the implementation of its decisions, noting that a number of states still refuse to comply with them, in clear violation of international obligations and human rights treaties. It also condemned acts of reprisal targeting detainees and their families, as well as activists cooperating with UN mechanisms.
In this context, human rights defender Hassana Abba Moulai Dah affirmed that Morocco’s failure to respond to the UN Working Group’s report stems from the lack of any justification preventing the implementation of its decisions, stressing that the documented violations constitute strong evidence condemning the Moroccan state.
In conclusion, through its Secretary, the Association reiterated its call for the immediate and unconditional release of Sahrawi political prisoners and for an end to all forms of reprisals against them and their families, in line with international human rights standards. (SPS)
090/500/60 (SPS)
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