Algerian Radio
Two Sahrawi students, detained in Moroccan jails, have begun a hunger strike to protest the violations of their rights, particularly the ill-treatment they are suffering, indicated the League for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan Prisons on Monday, demanding their "immediate and unconditional release."
"The Sahrawi students and civil detainees, Salah Eddine Sabbar and Brahim Babait, have begun a 48-hour warning hunger strike," the League specified in a statement.
This action aims to "protest against the degrading treatment and systematic discrimination they are subjected to in the Ait Melloul prison near Agadir, as well as against the discriminatory policy applied by the Moroccan prison administration," explained this human rights organization.
The two students were sentenced to eight months in prison due to their peaceful political opinions and positions in favor of the Sahrawi cause.
Since their detention, "they have suffered a series of violations including ill-treatment, the destruction of their personal belongings, overcrowding in cells with dangerous common law detainees, and incitement to hatred by prison officials," detailed the League.
According to information gathered by the League, Brahim Babait is suffering from a "significant deterioration in his state of health, necessitating urgent medical care."
The two young men are still awaiting the appeal trial regarding the sentence handed down against them.
Holding the General Delegation for Prison Administration of the Moroccan occupier "responsible for the physical and psychological integrity" of the two prisoners, the League demands their "immediate and unconditional release as prisoners of conscience" and calls for "the opening of an impartial investigation into all reported violations."
It also demands the "provision of appropriate medical care" and "the guarantee of dignified and humane detention conditions," as well as "the cessation of the policy of discrimination and systematic harassment against Sahrawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons."
The League calls on the international community and human rights organizations to "exert pressure on Morocco to ensure respect for the fundamental rights of Sahrawi detainees."
