Morocco/Western Sahara
05.09.01
Urgent Interventions
Morocco: prisoner of conscience Sidi Mohamed Daddach goes on hunger strike
Case MAR 050901
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 of the serious concerns generated by the hunger strike being carried out by the prisoner of conscience Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach, detained in the Central Prison of Boulemharez in Morocco.
According to the information received from the Saharan Association of the Families of Prisoners and Disappeared persons (AFAPREDESA), Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach, held in the Prison of Boulemharez, began a hunger strike on 23 August 2001 to support the International Campaign for the Liberation of Political Prisoners in the Sahara, launched by the European Office for the respect of Human Rights in Western Sahara.
Other prisoners joined the movement by carrying out a hunger strike lasting 24 hours on 23 August. Their names are Salek Bahaha, sentenced to 4 years’ prison on 27 September 2000, by the tribunal of Inzegane and Brahim Leghzal, who was abducted on 6 December 1999 with two other persons, Cheikh Khaya and El Arbi Massoud. All three are human rights defenders sentenced to prison terms of four years, along with two other persons, by the Inzegane Court, accused of spying by the POLISARIO front. They are all being held at the Boulemharez prison.
On 30 August 2001 five further prisoners showed their solidarity with Mr. Sidi Mohamed Daddach by carrying out a hunger strike lasting 24 hours in a move to support the struggle of Prisoners of Conscience in Western Sahara and to protest against the precarious conditions of detention of prisoners held in Moroccan detention centres. The five prisoners are all students detained during the events in Marakesh of May 2000.
Brahim Mohamed El Hosein Rajaa, sentenced to 5 year’s prison
Mouloud El Hossein M’Barek ; sentenced to 2 year’s prison
Omar Yahdih Omar ; sentenced to 2 year’s prison.
Mohamed El Moustapha El Hassan Bachir; sentenced to 2 year’s prison.
Salem El Bachir Ragragui; sentenced to 2 year’s prison.
According to AFAPREDESA, Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach is a prisoner of conscience, a symbol of the Saharan resistance. Aged 45, he has reportedly spent more than half of his life in Moroccan prisons due to his political convictions, and has been the object of an international campaign aiming to secure his release. Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach was born in 1957 in Guelta Zemur in Western Sahara and in 1973 enlisted in the Frente Polisario, taking part in the struggle for independence. On 2 February 1976 he was wounded and imprisoned during a battle near Amgala and transferred to various Moroccan prisons, ending up at the Police (Gendarmerie)Prison in El Aaiún. Mr Daddach was enlisted by force into the Gendarmes with 9 other prisoners, whilst 90 others were released. Along with a fellow prisoner, Mr Daddach subsequently made an unsuccessful attempt to escape in which his car was intercepted and his prison-mate died.
On 7 April 1980 Mr Daddach was reportedly sentenced to death for desertion and imprisoned at the Central Prison of Kénitra, where he was subjected to isolation, torture and withheld medical treatment. These conditions have pushed Mr Daddach into undertaking various hunger strikes in protest. On 8 March 1994 his death sentence was repealed and transformed into a life prison sentence because of a royal reprieve, but he remains in Kenitra central prison in the Death Row section of the prison.
The OMCT voices its concern for the safety and the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sidi Mohamed Daddach and for that of all West-Saharan political prisoners in Moroccan jails.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Moroccan Authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach and other Western-Saharan acvtivists
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the allegations of the use of torture, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate reparation to all the victims of torture involved in this case;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Adresses
· Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI, Palais Royal, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 73 07 72
· M. Abderrahmane El Youssoufi, Premier Ministre, Bureau du Premier Ministre et Ministre de Affaires Etrangères, Et de la Coopération, Palais Royal, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 76 91 95, 212 37 76 77 68
· M. Ahmed El Midaoui, Ministre de l’Intérieur, Quartier Administratif, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 76 20 64
· M. Omar Azziman, Ministre de la Justice, Palais de la Mamounia, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 73 07 72, 212 37 73 89 40, 212 37 73 27 10
· M. Mohamed Aujjar, Ministre des Droits de l’homme, Fax : 212 37 67.19.67
Please write to the diplomatic representations of Morocco in your respective countries.
Geneva, September 5 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
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 of the serious concerns generated by the hunger strike being carried out by the prisoner of conscience Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach, detained in the Central Prison of Boulemharez in Morocco.
According to the information received from the Saharan Association of the Families of Prisoners and Disappeared persons (AFAPREDESA), Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach, held in the Prison of Boulemharez, began a hunger strike on 23 August 2001 to support the International Campaign for the Liberation of Political Prisoners in the Sahara, launched by the European Office for the respect of Human Rights in Western Sahara.
Other prisoners joined the movement by carrying out a hunger strike lasting 24 hours on 23 August. Their names are Salek Bahaha, sentenced to 4 years’ prison on 27 September 2000, by the tribunal of Inzegane and Brahim Leghzal, who was abducted on 6 December 1999 with two other persons, Cheikh Khaya and El Arbi Massoud. All three are human rights defenders sentenced to prison terms of four years, along with two other persons, by the Inzegane Court, accused of spying by the POLISARIO front. They are all being held at the Boulemharez prison.
On 30 August 2001 five further prisoners showed their solidarity with Mr. Sidi Mohamed Daddach by carrying out a hunger strike lasting 24 hours in a move to support the struggle of Prisoners of Conscience in Western Sahara and to protest against the precarious conditions of detention of prisoners held in Moroccan detention centres. The five prisoners are all students detained during the events in Marakesh of May 2000.
Brahim Mohamed El Hosein Rajaa, sentenced to 5 year’s prison
Mouloud El Hossein M’Barek ; sentenced to 2 year’s prison
Omar Yahdih Omar ; sentenced to 2 year’s prison.
Mohamed El Moustapha El Hassan Bachir; sentenced to 2 year’s prison.
Salem El Bachir Ragragui; sentenced to 2 year’s prison.
According to AFAPREDESA, Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach is a prisoner of conscience, a symbol of the Saharan resistance. Aged 45, he has reportedly spent more than half of his life in Moroccan prisons due to his political convictions, and has been the object of an international campaign aiming to secure his release. Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach was born in 1957 in Guelta Zemur in Western Sahara and in 1973 enlisted in the Frente Polisario, taking part in the struggle for independence. On 2 February 1976 he was wounded and imprisoned during a battle near Amgala and transferred to various Moroccan prisons, ending up at the Police (Gendarmerie)Prison in El Aaiún. Mr Daddach was enlisted by force into the Gendarmes with 9 other prisoners, whilst 90 others were released. Along with a fellow prisoner, Mr Daddach subsequently made an unsuccessful attempt to escape in which his car was intercepted and his prison-mate died.
On 7 April 1980 Mr Daddach was reportedly sentenced to death for desertion and imprisoned at the Central Prison of Kénitra, where he was subjected to isolation, torture and withheld medical treatment. These conditions have pushed Mr Daddach into undertaking various hunger strikes in protest. On 8 March 1994 his death sentence was repealed and transformed into a life prison sentence because of a royal reprieve, but he remains in Kenitra central prison in the Death Row section of the prison.
The OMCT voices its concern for the safety and the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Sidi Mohamed Daddach and for that of all West-Saharan political prisoners in Moroccan jails.
Requested Action:
Please write to the Moroccan Authorities urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Sidi Mohamed Daddach and other Western-Saharan acvtivists
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, notably the allegations of the use of torture, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee adequate reparation to all the victims of torture involved in this case;
v. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Adresses
· Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI, Palais Royal, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 73 07 72
· M. Abderrahmane El Youssoufi, Premier Ministre, Bureau du Premier Ministre et Ministre de Affaires Etrangères, Et de la Coopération, Palais Royal, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 76 91 95, 212 37 76 77 68
· M. Ahmed El Midaoui, Ministre de l’Intérieur, Quartier Administratif, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 76 20 64
· M. Omar Azziman, Ministre de la Justice, Palais de la Mamounia, Rabat, Maroc, Fax : 212 37 73 07 72, 212 37 73 89 40, 212 37 73 27 10
· M. Mohamed Aujjar, Ministre des Droits de l’homme, Fax : 212 37 67.19.67
Please write to the diplomatic representations of Morocco in your respective countries.
Geneva, September 5 2001
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.