Brussels (Belgium), January 27, 2017 (SPS) - Paloma Lopez, a member of the European Parliament, denounced the “arbitrary detention” of Sahrawi students in Moroccan prisons, outraged by their detention conditions, particularly the torture they are subjected to.
In a written question addressed to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, the Spanish MEP urged her to take all the necessary measures to protect the fundamental rights of these Sahrawis, detained in the prison of Oudaya (Marrakesh), considering them as political prisoners.
Paloma Lopez urged Mogherini to take all the appropriate measures to ensure that their rights as political prisoners are fully respected, calling for a medical examination “to verify the allegations of torture made by these prisoners.”
In this regard, the eurodeputy wondered about the measures to be taken by the European Union (EU) so that these prisoners are examined by doctors of international and independent medical organizations, in order to document the abuse and torture they suffered. In addition, she asked the high representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini to pressure Morocco to avoid another postponement of the trial of the Sahrawi students, who are detained “arbitrarily” in the Oudaya prison for nearly a year now.
“They (the students) consider being arbitrarily judged as a reprisal for their activism, in universities, for the Sahrawi cause,” said the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH).SPS
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