MOROCCO: TAINTED TRIAL OF SAHRAWI CIVILIANS
Military Court’s Judgment in Case Based on 2010 Western Sahara Clash
APRIL 1, 2013
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Naâma Asfari, one of 25 Sahrawis convicted by a military court in the Gdeim Izik trial.
© 2008 Human Rights Watch
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While the loss of life at Gdeim Izik is deplorable, the prosecution failed to establish after 26 months of pretrial detention for most defendants a credible case that they were responsible for the violence.
Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director
(Rabat) – A Moroccan military court has sentenced 25 Sahrawis to prison, including nine to life sentences, without looking into their allegations that their confessions were extracted under torture and other forms of coercion. The defendants include several advocates of human rights and independence for Western Sahara. The confessions were apparently the primary, if not the only, evidence against them, as the court’s written judgment, released the week of March 18, 2013, makes clear.