Published: Tuesday, January 7, 2025 | Category: International
Occupied Laayoune – The Second Chamber of the Moroccan Court of Appeal in Agadir sentenced two Sahrawi students, Hussein Bourkib and Ayman Al-Yathribi, to two years in prison each on Monday. This ruling comes as part of a broader campaign targeting Sahrawi people and undermining their rights, reportedly as retaliation for their advocacy for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
In a statement, the “Committee of Families and Companions of Political Student Detainees, Companions of Martyr El-Wali,” denounced the sentences as “harsh and illegitimate.” The statement noted that the ruling followed the ninth court appearance of the political prisoners in what it described as an effort to “exhaust the detainees and intimidate their supporters.”
The committee attributed their detention to their participation in peaceful demonstrations at universities, student housing, and national events. Their activism also extended to supporting other Sahrawi political detainees in Moroccan prisons and advocating for the Sahrawi people’s right to independence and self-determination. The trial lasted over two hours and was marked by a heavy presence of Moroccan police and security forces.
Both students are enrolled at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir and are known for their political stances and union activities. Their sentencing follows a similar ruling last month by a court in Guelmim against another Sahrawi student, Ibrahim Kherbouch. He was sentenced to one month’s suspended imprisonment for participating in a student-led protest in Bouzakarn in August 2022.
That protest had been met with excessive force by Moroccan authorities 14 kilometers outside Bouzakarn. Students, including Kherbouch, were detained and charged with organizing an unauthorized demonstration and violating the state of emergency. Despite being released on bail, Kherbouch was sentenced two years later without prior notification or an opportunity to defend himself.
Kherbouch has faced multiple arrests for his activism within Moroccan universities and in Western Sahara.
These developments highlight ongoing tensions and repression faced by Sahrawi activists advocating for their rights under Moroccan occupation.
For further details, visit DZWATCH.DZ.
Author: Nor-Eleslam
