Sahrawi community in Paris denounces deteriorating health of political prisoner Naâma Asfari, calls for release of Sahrawi political prisoners

Paris (France), July 14, 2026 (SPS) – The Sahrawi community in Paris and its surrounding suburbs took part on Tuesday in the annual civic march held in the French capital to mark France's National Day, alongside 86 French non-governmental organizations.

Participants reaffirmed their support for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and sought to draw the attention of the French public to the alarming situation of Sahrawi political prisoners held in Moroccan prisons.

Throughout the march, which proceeded from Place de la Bastille to Place de la République, members of the Sahrawi community carried Sahrawi national flags and photographs of Sahrawi political prisoners from the Gdeim Izik Group. Through banners, leaflets distributed to participants and passersby, and speeches delivered on behalf of the Sahrawi community and Sahrawi women, participants renewed their call for the immediate release of all Sahrawi political prisoners and for respect for the Sahrawi people's inalienable right to self-determination and independence.

The Sahrawi community used the large public gathering to draw particular attention to the continued deterioration of the health of Sahrawi political prisoner Naâma Asfari, a member of the Gdeim Izik Group who has been arbitrarily detained in Moroccan prisons for more than 15 years. Participants condemned the conditions of his detention and expressed concern over the serious risks to his health resulting from his ongoing hunger strike, which he is carrying out to demand respect for his fundamental rights and the implementation of the recommendations and opinions issued by United Nations human rights mechanisms calling for the release of Sahrawi political prisoners.

Representatives of the Sahrawi community stressed that the case of Naâma Asfari symbolizes the plight of all Sahrawi political prisoners, who, they said, have been subjected to unfair trials, torture, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention because of their peaceful support for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination.