Morocco/Western Sahara
26.06.02
Urgent Interventions

Morocco: arbitrary arrests and detention of two Western Sahara citizens

Case MAR 260602
Arbitrary Detentions / Summon by the Police

The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Morocco/Western Sahara.

Brief description of the situation:

The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed that Mr. Ahmed Mohamed-Lamin Eyeid, a Western Saharan, has been transferred and put in an isolation cell in the “black prison of El Aaiún”. The Secretariat has also been informed of the detention of Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid, alias « Tirsal », as well as the publication of a list that contains the names of several ex-political prisoners, who have been summoned to the police headquarters in the occupied city of El Aaiún.

According to the information transmitted by the Saharan Association of the Families of Prisoners and Disappeared (AFAPREDESA), Mr. Ahmed Mohamed-Lamin Eyeid, was transferred to the black prison of El Aaiún, where he has been isolated from others by detention in an individual cell.

Reliable sources add that Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid, also known as « Tirsal », was arrested, on 25th June 2002, at a police post located at the entry point of the city of Smara. The reports affirm that Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid was transferred, on the same day, to El Aaiún.

According to the information received, Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid had just come back to his house in Smara, after having participated, as the Saharan representative, in the first national congress organized by the “Truth and Justice Forum”, which took place on 14, 15 and 16 June 2002, in Buzneica (Rabat). Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid is son of Mr. Habub Mouilid, who disappeared in 1976, and who, according to individuals rescued from secret detention camps (among them the famous Kalaat M´guna), became the first martyr.

The same report affirms that a list containing the names of several ex-political prisoners and militants of the Saharan liberation movement appeared, summoning them at the police headquarters in El Aaiún. According to the report, the mentioned individuals had all been political prisoners, and some of them had disappeared. Some of the names in the list are:

Sidi Mohamed Daddach ;
Minatu Haidar ;
Baba Mayara ;
Brahim Numría ;
Salek Bazeid ;
Mohamed-Salem Mayara.

The International Secretariat of the OMCT shares the concern of the Saharan Association of the Families of Prisoners and Disappeared (AFAPREDESA), and other human rights organisations for the situation of the Saharan community in general; for the situation of the Saharan prisoners in Moroccan prisons, and their families; and for the security and physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ahmed Mohamed-Lamin Eyeid and Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid, as well of the other individuals mentioned above.

Required action:
Please write to the authorities in Morocco urging them to:

i. take the necessary measures to guarantee the security and physical and psychological integrity of the Saharan community in general, and of Mr. Ahmed Mohamed-Lamin Eyeid and Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid, in particular, as well as that of all those mentioned above;

ii. order the immediate release of Mr. Ahmed Mohamed-Lamin Eyeid and Mr. Mohamed Habub Mouilid, in the case they had been detained without valid charges, or in the case of having valid accusations, take them to a civilian court, and guarantee them an independent and impartial trial, in addition to their basic legal rights;

iii. order an impartial and through investigation on the events described above, in order to identify those responsible, take then to trial and apply the legal civil and/or administrative sanctions, as stated by the law;

iv. guarantee the respect for the rights and fundamental liberties of all the population, including the Saharan community, in conformity with the dispositions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and the regional and international conventions, in particular with the Principles and Minimum Norms for the treatment of detainees, ratified by Morocco.

Addresses:
· S.M. Mohammed VI. Ibn Al Hassan, Roi du Maroc, Palais Royal, Rabat, Morocco. Fax : (+ 212) 773 07 72.
· M. Abderrahmane El Youssoufi, Premier Ministre, Bureau du Premier Ministre et Ministre des Affaires Etrangères et de la Coopération, Palais Royal, Rabat, Maroc. Fax (+ 212 776 99 95 // 76 91 95 ou 77 68 37
· M. Driss Basri, Ministre de l’Interieur, Quartier Administratif, Rabat, Maroc. Fax : (+ 212) 776 20 56 / 76 64
· M. Omar Azziman, Ministre de la Justice et des Droits de l’Homme, Palais de la Manounia, Rabat, Maroc. Fax: (+ 212) 773 89 40 / 73 27 10
· M. Driss Dahak, President du Conseil Consultatif des Droits de l’Homme (CCDH), Place des Chouhada, B.P. 1341, Rabat, Maroc. Fax: (+ 212) 772 68 56

please write to the diplomatic representations in your respective countries.

Geneva, June 26th 2002

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.