Gonfreville-l'Orcher (France), July 7, 2026 (SPS) – The Mayor of Gonfreville-l'Orcher and departmental councillor for Seine-Maritime, Alban Bruneau, has sent a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron urging him to intervene with the Moroccan authorities to secure the immediate release of Sahrawi political prisoner Naâma Asfari, who has been detained since 2010.
In his letter to the French Head of State, the elected official recalled that Naâma Asfari was arrested on November 7, 2010, in occupied El Aaiún, subjected to torture, and later sentenced to 30 years in prison following a trial that he described as failing to meet the fair trial guarantees set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Morocco is a State Party.
The mayor also noted that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in Opinion No. 23/2023 issued on March 27, 2023, recommended Naâma Asfari's immediate release, compensation for the harm he suffered, and the opening of an independent investigation into the human rights violations committed against him.
Recalling Morocco's international obligations to protect human rights, Alban Bruneau argued that the detention of Naâma Asfari, as well as that of the other Sahrawi political prisoners from the Gdeim Izik group, is incompatible with the Kingdom's international commitments.
In his letter, the French official called on President Emmanuel Macron to remind Morocco of its international obligations and to publicly urge it to immediately release Naâma Asfari and his fellow detainees; Guarantee a new trial before a civilian court if any charges are maintained, in full compliance with international fair trial standards and without any prosecution based on their political opinions or their human rights advocacy.
This initiative forms part of the growing mobilization by European political leaders, parliamentarians, and human rights organizations calling for the release of Sahrawi political prisoners and for respect of the decisions and recommendations issued by United Nations human rights mechanisms regarding their cases.
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