DZWatch Exclusive: A Sahrawi prisoners’ rights organization has strongly denounced the ongoing mistreatment of political prisoners associated with the “Gdeim Izik” group within Moroccan prisons. The organization alleges a pattern of systematic targeting and inhumane conditions endured throughout years of what they describe as arbitrary detention.
In a statement released today, the Sahrawi League for the Protection of Political Prisoners highlighted the case of Sidi Abdallah Ahmed Sidi Abhah, a Sahrawi civilian prisoner also part of the “Gdeim Izik” group. Abhah is currently held in the Tiflet 2 East prison near Rabat. The League claims that he “suffers from the harsh conditions of detention, and the prison administration has failed to respond to his previous demands for improved detention conditions and humane treatment that preserves his dignity within the prison.”
The statement further detailed that Abhah is subjected to complete isolation and systematic targeting within the Moroccan prison, according to his family. This, they assert, has led to “serious psychological illnesses that have negatively affected his health.” Since May 2018, following his transfer from Kenitra Central Prison, authorities have allegedly isolated him in a closed cell, depriving him of contact with other prisoners and subjecting him to tight surveillance. He is reportedly denied regular daily exercise and adequate food.
The rights group argues that “what the Sahrawi prisoner is subjected to falls within the context of psychological torture and direct retaliation,” a practice previously condemned by the United Nations Committee Against Torture. The League also criticized the lack of accountability for those responsible for the alleged abusive and unlawful practices.
The organization emphasized that the fate of Sidi Abdallah Ahmed Sidi Abhah within the prison “poses a real threat to his mental and psychological well-being, in addition to the chronic diseases he suffers from as a result of years of arbitrary detention and cruel and degrading treatment.”
In a related development, the Sahrawi activist Abdullah Al-Khafawni, another prisoner within the same group held in Kenitra Central Prison, is reportedly experiencing similarly “dangerous” conditions. His family has lodged formal complaints with Moroccan judicial authorities, alleging the deliberate denial of basic human and legal rights. As of yet, these complaints have gone unanswered.
DZWatch continues to monitor the situation and will provide updates as they become available.
