Rabat, June 10, 2012 (SPS) - Twenty-three Sahrawi political prisoners incarcerated in the Moroccan jail of Sale, near Rabat, since the dismantling of Gdeim Izik protest camp by the Moroccan forces 8 November 2010, continue since Friday their alarming hunger strike to confirm their demands, according to a source close to their families.
Member of the committee of Sahrawi prisoners’ families underlined that the Sahrawi prisoners have started the hunger strike to demand their unconditioned release or setting the date for their trial before a civil court, and also to protest against conditions of their detention and the deterioration of their health.
The same source pointed out that the hunger strike aims to call the attention of international community to the violation of their rights and their detention conditions, adding that it is possible that this hunger strike be followed by open hunger strike.
Last May, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) called for rapid intervention for their release, as they have spent one year and four months in prison without trial, in violation of paragraph 3 of article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The group, known as Gdeim Izik detainees, was arrested on November 8, 2010 following the dismantling of Gdeim Izik camp, before they transferred to the Moroccan prison of Sale. (SPS)
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