Geneva (UNHRC) 21 May 2026 (SPS)— The United Nations Committee against Torture has accused Morocco of systemic human rights violations against Sahrawi detainees linked to the Gdeim Izik protest movement in Western Sahara, concluding that authorities relied on torture, coerced confessions, and failed investigations in a series of politically sensitive prosecutions.
The findings were issued Yesterday by the Committee after it reviewed four complaints submitted by detainees arrested following the dismantling of the Gdeim Izik protest camp near the occupied capital of Western Sahara, Aaiun, in 2010. The camp, which at its height gathered more than 20,000 Sahrawi protesters, had been established to peacefully denounce Moroccan policies of colonial discrimination and deteriorating social and economic conditions in Western Sahara.
In its decisions, the Committee said the four cases formed part of a broader “consistent pattern” already identified in six earlier rulings involving Gdeim Izik detainees. According to the Committee, the cases revealed recurring practices of arbitrary detention, solitary confinement, torture during interrogations, and the use of confessions allegedly extracted under coercion as evidence in court proceedings.
The UN body stated that the complainants described severe abuse during arrest and detention, including beatings, cigarette burns, threats of rape, suspension in painful stress positions known as the “roasted chicken,” and “falaka,” a form of torture involving repeated blows to the soles of the feet. The detainees also reported prolonged solitary confinement, denial of food and medical care, and restricted access to lawyers and family visits.
Peter Vedel Kessing, Vice-Chair of the Committee against Torture, said the repeated nature of the allegations pointed to a structural problem rather than isolated misconduct.
“Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases, but a structural problem in the way Morocco handles cases related to Gdeim Izik,” Kessing said.
The Committee criticized Moroccan judicial authorities for allegedly refusing to record torture complaints or order immediate investigations despite visible signs of abuse. It noted that medical examinations were only ordered six years later by the Rabat Court of Appeal and were not conducted independently or in line with the Istanbul Protocol, the international standard for documenting torture.
According to the complainants, they were forced to sign or fingerprint police statements without knowing their contents after enduring torture and ill-treatment. Those statements were later used as key evidence in trials before a Moroccan military court in 2013 and subsequently before the Rabat Court of Appeal.
The four detainees were ultimately convicted, with two receiving life sentences and two others sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The Committee concluded that Morocco violated multiple obligations under the UN Convention against Torture by failing to investigate allegations promptly and impartially, failing to prevent torture during detention and interrogation, denying effective complaint mechanisms, and relying on evidence allegedly obtained through coercion.
It also expressed concern over what it described as Morocco’s continued dependence on disputed confessions in Gdeim Izik-related prosecutions despite repeated international criticism.
The Committee called on Morocco to launch impartial investigations compliant with the revised Istanbul Protocol, prosecute those responsible for torture, and provide the complainants with compensation and rehabilitation.
It also urged the colonial authorities to review, and where appropriate annul, the convictions tied to the contested confessions.
Additionally, the Committee demanded that Moroccan authorities guarantee detainees regular access to lawyers, doctors, and family members, and refrain from intimidation or reprisals against the complainants.
The Gdeim Izik protest camp remains one of the most politically charged episodes in the modern history of Western Sahara, illegally occupied and colonized by Morocco. Human rights organizations have long raised concerns over the treatment of Sahrawi activists detained in connection with the protests but no concrete international reactions are adopted so far. (SPS)
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