Paris, July 27, 2017 (SPS) - Several associations have condemned Wednesday the sentences issued against the Sahrawi political detainees of Group Gdeim Izik by Rabat Court, demanding their release and the end of the Moroccan repression against the Sahrawis in the Occupied Territories.
In a communiqué, the associations of Sahrawis of France, Associations of support to the Sahrawi cause, human rights and development, as well as the Platform for Solidarity with Western Sahara people demanded the cancellation of the "unfair" verdict of 19 July, the liberation of the Sahrawi political prisoners and the end of repression in the territories occupied by Morocco.
After seven years of imprisonment and seven months of trial, the Rabat Court issued sentences ranging from two years in jail to life imprisonment against Sahrawi political detainees.
In their statement, the associations reaffirmed their support for the struggle of the Saharawi people for independence, calling on the French government, the European authorities and the United Nations to "pressure" the Moroccan authorities to release Sahrawi political prisoners, cease its policy of repression against the Sahrawi population and respect international law based on the holding of a self-determination referendum.
Due to their participation in the Gdeim Izik camp (violently dismantled by the Moroccan occupation forces on 8 February 2010), 24 Sahrawi activists were sentenced by a military court on 17 February 2013 to heavy prison sentences. SPS
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