Madrid (Spain), June 07, 2017 (SPS) - More than a dozen of international observers attending Monday in Rabat the resumption of the trial of Saharawi Gdeim Izik's political prisoners denounced various irregularities.
The chairwoman of SOGAPS (Solidariedade Galega co Pobo Saharaui) group, Maite Isla, attending the hearing, denounced in a joint statement published on the website of her association the irregularities in the trial procedures.
The trial is taking place in Rabat while the Gdeim Izik incident occurred in El Aaiun, the capital of occupied Western Sahara.
The court of Rabat thus lacks subject matter competence, the statement underlined.
The joint statement by the international observers clearly stressed that the counsel for the defense, appointed by the court on May 16, started its work without getting in touch with the defendants or studying their files.
The international observers also denounced the unjustified delay in the opening of the trial.
The trial opened in 2013 and it is now in its first hearing following several postponements.
The observers denounced the arbitrary detention of the prisoners for six years and a half on the basis of a decision overruled by the Court of Cassation, which represents a violation of the right to the presumption of innocence. SPS
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