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 Tiznit (Morocco) February 21, 2014 (SPS) – The Court of First Instance in Tiznit, Morocco, issued Thursday  harsh sentences ranging of six and four months imprisonment in addition to fines against a group of four Sahrawi journalists and human rights defenders, according to the Ministry of Occupied Territories and Community Abroad.

The four Sahrawi journalists and human rights defenders include Sidi Sibai, Hafed Toubali, Mohammed Jemour and Bashir Buamoud.

Extremadura (Spain), February 21, 2014 (SPS) -  The authorities of the Spanish region of Extremadura supervised Thursday the launch of a convoy of solidarity to the  Saharawi refugee camps, according to the Polisario Front representation in this region.    

The convoy consists of eight trucks, loaded with 143 tonnes of food and medicines, a tank truck and four-wheel drive vehicles. (SPS)

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Vienna (Austria), February 20, 2014 (SPS) - Federal Minister of Health Mr.  Alois Stogr called for the  need to hold a referendum of self-determination in Western Sahara and to enable the Saharawi people to its right to independence, in press release issued by the Minister's office.

The press release was issued after a meeting between the Minister and Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, adviser ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and coordinator of the International Campaign Against the Moroccan occupation wall in Western Sahara. (SPS)

Paris (France), February 21, 2014 (SPS) - Representative of Polisario Front in Paris Omar Mansour spoke Wednesday for the first time at the French National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament) to “exchange updated information” on the western Saharan conflict, said a Sahrawi official.

The meeting, behind closed doors, was held at the initiative of studies group “Sahara occidental,” created last year in the French National Assembly.

Paris (France), February 21, 2014 (SPS) - Awarded at the film festivals of Berlin (Germany), Toronto (Canada), San Sebastian (Spain) in 2012, and received the Goya Prize of the best documentary in 2013, the Spanish film "Sons of the Clouds," directed by Alvaro Longoria and produced by Javier Bardem, was shown for the first time in France, to domestic and foreign journalists, on Tuesday.

Algiers, Feb 18, 2014 (SPS) - The Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Erkki Tuomioja expressed Tuesday in Algiers his country’s support to the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination.

Chahid Al Hafed (refugee camps), Feb 17, 2014 (SPS) - The preparatory political conferences for the elections of members of the Saharawi National Council (SNC) kicked off today, Tuesday, in all wilaya and institutions of the Saharawi Republic (SADR).


162 candidates are vying for 52 seats within Saharawi Parliament in 16 electoral districts, including the Sahrawi People’s Liberation Army, mass organizations, as well as national and regional institutions.

Vienna, Feb 18, 2014 (SPS) - Coordinator of the International Campaign against Moroccan Wall in Western Sahara and Advisor to Saharawi Foreign Ministry Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar has begun yesterday, Monday, a working visit to Austria, part of an awarness tour for the campaign within Austria.


Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, in this regard, met with Ms. Erika Pluhar, vice-president of Austrian Association of solidarity with the Saharawi people.

El Aaiun (occupied territories), Feb 18, 2014 (SPS) - Human Rights Watch has confirmed that the Moroccan regime exerts tight pressure on the Saharawi human rights activists to deter them from reporting online about human rights abuses in Western Sahara.

Shaheed El Hafed, February 17, 2014 (SPS) - The Secretariat of Political Branches of the Polisario Front held Sunday a meeting to evaluate the diplomatic and media work of the mass organizations (Youth, Women and Workers) over the past year 2013.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Bashir Mustapha Sayed, in charge of the Political Branches of the Polisario Front, in the presence of the secretaries-general and foreign affairs, information and cooperation officers of the mass organizations.

Paris, February 17, 2014 (SPS) - The support for the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence is at the heart of the 9th edition of the anticolonial week, where the Polisario Front Representative in Paris, Omar Mansour, inaugurated Saturday this event, accused France of " blocking" the settlement of the question of Western Sahara.    

El Aaiun (Occupied Territories), February 16, 2014 (SPS) -  The Moroccan forces intervened brutally Saturday in the occupied city of El Aaiun leaving 70 Sahrawis injured, according to a preliminary list received by Sahara Press Service (SPS).   

The intervention came after Sahrawis took to the streets chanting slogans calling for freedom, self-determination and extention of MINURSO prerogatives to include human rights monitoring in Western Sahara.  

The demonstrators were also severely beaten and some homes were raided.  

Madrid (Spain), February 16, 2014 (SPS)  - Judge Pablo Rafael Ruz Guitierrez of the Spanish supreme court intends to extend prosecution against senior Moroccan military officials involved in the death of Saharawi citizens in 1976.

The action was brought by Domingo Jose Collado Molinero representing a Spanish human rights group.

The judge has included in the case the findings of an investigation about the responsibility of Moroccans in the execution of eight Saharawi people, discovered last year in common graves in Western Sahara.

Bir Lehlou (Liberated Territories), February 16, 2014 (SPS) - Sahrawi President Mohamed Abdelaziz said Wednesday that scenes of violence against defenceless Sahrawi citizens "show the stubbornness of Moroccan occupation authorities in continuing their human rights violation in Western Sahara," calling on the United Nations to intervene for the release of all prisoners and the preservation of the natural resources of this territory.

Madrid, February 16, 2014 (SPS) – The Spanish organizations of Solidarity with the Saharawi people organised Saturday demonstrations in the framework of the international campaign for the inclusion of human rights monitoring in the prerogatives of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), according to media source in Spain.

Montevideo (Uruguay) February 15, 2014 (SPS) - The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Mr. Luis Almagro , emphasized the need to assign the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) to monitor human rights, during a meeting Thursday in Montevideo with the Saharawi Ambassador, Mr. Abbas Sheibani .

During the meeting held at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Mr. Almagro expressed concern about the fact that the mission is the only one in the world that does not carry out the tasks of monitoring and reporting on human rights.