Washington DC, Oct 21, 2014 (SPS) - Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights has expressed concern over the death and unauthorized burial of the Saharawi political prisoner, Hassana El-Ouali, while in custody.
In a statement issued on October 15, RFK Center President, Kerry kennedy, said the preventing the family to claim Hassana’s remains only makes the Moroccan violation of human rights “more abhorrent.”
She also urged Moroccan government to “investigate the widespread claims of prisoner maltreatment leveled against it and to ensure that the dignity of detainees in its prisons is unequivocally protected.”
The statement went on saying that the detention condition and death of Hassana comes amidst a serious of worrisome reports about the Moroccan-run jails of Western Sahara, adding that the UN Special Rapporteur, Juan Mendez, Amnesty International and Saharawi entities have all reported that prisons in Western Sahara are “overcrowded” and that torture is frequently used in silence and punish political dissidents.
“The story of Hassana El Ouali comes on the heels of a number of undeniable human rights violations being committed by the Moroccan authorities against the Sahrawi people,” said Santiago A. Canton, Executive Director of RFK Partners for Human Rights.
“At minimum, torture, inadequate medical treatment, and deprivation of human dignity all constitute violations of Morocco’s international legal obligations under the Convention Against Torture, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights,” she added.
El Ouali, who died on September 27 in a military hospital in Dakhla, Western Sahara, was an active member of the pro-independence movement and a campaigner against torture and police brutality, stated the source. (SPS)
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