Occupied El Aaiun, 10 June 2024 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Association for Victims of Serious Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State called on the United Nations and the Security Council to assume their responsibilities regarding the "repressive policies, torture, and daily violence and work" that Sahrawi civilians are subjected to in the occupied part of Western Sahara and Moroccan universities, and to force the Moroccan occupation regime to respect international legitimacy.
In this context, the Sahrawi Association, in a statement, condemned the "harsh" and "unjust" sentences against the Sahrawi students at Ibn Zohr University in the Moroccan city of Agadir, Hussein Bourkba (22 years old), who was arrested on January 19, 2024, and student Ayman Yathribi (20 years old), who was arrested on January 23, 2024.
Last Thursday, the Court of Appeal in the Moroccan city of Agadir issued a verdict sentencing the two Sahrawi students to 10 years in prison. These two students are known for their political positions and their trade union and activist activities in favor of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence.
The same association affirmed that these sentences are "a new crime added to the set of crimes practiced by the Moroccan occupation state against the sons of the Sahrawi people," considering them "direct and illegal revenge against the Sahrawi students because of their positions," especially since they come in a context whose most prominent feature is "the comprehensive targeting by the occupation state and its intelligence services of the sons of the Sahrawi people and working by all means to eliminate all their rights."
The Sahrawi human rights association called on all international human rights organizations to support the Sahrawi students, to shed light on their case and, through it, all the Sahrawi prisoners in the occupation's prisons.