Algiers, 8 July 2025 (SPS) – The League for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan Jails has called for increased pressure on the Makhzen regime to respect international humanitarian law, stressing the need to expose the policy of blackout through which the occupying authorities attempt to isolate Sahrawi political detainees from public opinion.
Human rights activist Hassan Edouahi, Vice President of the League for the Protection of Sahrawi Prisoners in Moroccan Jails and a founding member of the Sahrawi Body Against Occupation, stated in a declaration to APS that the suffering of Sahrawi prisoners worsens daily as they are denied their most basic rights, such as healthcare and communication with their lawyers and families. He added that Moroccan prison authorities "carry out systematic harassment, constituting collective punishment that violates all international conventions."
Edouahi explained that the League documents these violations through periodic reports and urgent news bulletins, alongside international advocacy via UN human rights mechanisms such as the Human Rights Council and special committees. He emphasized the necessity of exposing the policy of blackout used by the occupation authorities to isolate political detainees from public scrutiny.
In this context, the spokesperson called for increased pressure on Morocco to respect international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, urging the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and human rights organizations to urgently visit Sahrawi detainees in Moroccan prisons. He also demanded legal accountability for those responsible for these violations.
In a related context, Sahrawi journalist Mohamed Mayara noted that popular resistance in the occupied territories remains steadfast despite intensified security crackdowns. He pointed out that activists and journalists have refined their struggle by establishing a unified organizational framework to coordinate fieldwork under the slogan "Escalating the Struggle to Expel the Occupation," sending a clear message that the era of isolation is over.
Mayara added that there is ongoing coordination with independent journalists and international agencies to counter Morocco’s policy of expulsion and suppression, which has led to the deportation of over 350 international activists and journalists from the occupied Sahrawi territories in recent years.
The speaker warned that the occupation authorities are attempting to suffocate the popular movement at its roots by militarizing major Sahrawi cities like El Aaiún and Dakhla through increased checkpoints and the installation of smart surveillance cameras. Additionally, activists' homes are besieged to prevent any field movements or peaceful protests.
Mohamed Mayara also highlighted the occupation authorities' use of advanced espionage tactics, such as the Pegasus spyware, to monitor activists and journalists' communications. This, he said, reflects "the situation of suffocating police surveillance aimed at silencing every free voice in the occupied territories."
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