Makhzen Regime targets Sahrawi activists due to their oppose of its occupation of their land

isacom
Sat, 10/19/2024 - 10:40

Occupied Boujdour (Sahrawi Republic) October 19, 2024 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Organization Against the Moroccan Occupation (ISACOM) confirmed that the Makhzen Regime targets Sahrawi activists using various means, including close surveillance, in an attempt to take revenge on them for their human rights activities against the occupation of their land.

ISACOM explained in a post on social media that "the Moroccan occupation authorities targeted the Sahrawi human rights defender Hamadi AL-Nasiri, by arbitrarily arresting him at the checkpoint at the northern entrance to the occupied city of Boujdour."

"SACOM added that "the occupation authorities and intelligence are tightening close surveillance and direct harassment of its members in an attempt to take revenge on them during their travel and movement due to their human rights activities against the occupation."

In a previous statement, ISACOM strongly condemned all forms of aggression to which many Sahrawi women activists were subjected by the occupation police in the occupied city of Boujdour, and the continuation of the policy of revenge against Sahrawis who adhere to their right to self-determination and independence.

The Sahrawi organization also condemned "the continuation of the policy of revenge against Sahrawis who adhere to the right to a dignified life, and defending the aspirations of the Sahrawi people for freedom and independence."

In the same context, it stressed that it "monitors the forms of arrogance and escalation of the Moroccan occupation machine and its practices that undermine dignity outside the police headquarters, and in public, and the extrajudicial killing of Sahrawi civilians in the liberated territories by targeting them with drones."

It is worth noting that the Moroccan occupation persists in its systematic repressive practices against Sahrawi human rights defenders through direct threats, besieging homes and close surveillance in retaliation for their struggle positions defending the Sahrawi people's right to freedom and self-determination, in a dangerous development that threatens their security and the safety of civilians in the occupied areas of Western Sahara.

In a report on the situation in Western Sahara distributed to members of the UN Security Council before their meeting on Wednesday, in a closed session to discuss the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his "concern" about the continued lack of access of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to the occupied territories of Western Sahara, noting that the absence of independent and comprehensive monitoring of the human rights situation continues to undermine the conduct of a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in the region.

He added that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights continued to receive reports of “restrictions, intimidation and harassment targeting Sahrawi activists defending the right to self-determination, which is evidence that civic space is shrinking further,” referring in this regard to the cases of a journalist and a Sahrawi human rights defender that “raised concerns about freedom of expression and association.”

Guterres also referred in his report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which expressed “concern” about the targeting, intimidation and surveillance of Sahrawi activists, human rights defenders, student movements and Sahrawi organizations, and recommended “taking measures to allow activists and organizations to operate without interference and called for comprehensive investigations.”

SPS 110

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