Said ELBAILLAL forcibly transfered to Berchid prison

26/04/2008 | Newsletter, Political Prisoners

Sahrawi human rights defender, a member of CODAPSO and the ASVDH, and political prisoner, Mr. Said ELBAILLAL was transferred to the civil prison of Berchid (City south of Casablanca – Morocco), Thursday, April 24, 2008, around 16: 00 GMT. This transfer comes four days before the release of Mr. ELBAILLAL, which proves that the reason for this act is to remove the latter far from the Saharawi students in Rabat who were preparing to organize a reception at the Campus of the University of Rabat. This intention is reinforced by threats that the father of Mr. Said has received from the Moroccan authorities in Smara who have banned him to hold celebration at the release of his son. The Moroccan officials have also threatened to intervene violently against any celebration and threatened Sahrawi human rights defenders to be targeted if these festivities take place.

We recall that on March 27, 2008, the Court of Appeal in Rabat has commuted the initial sentence of imprisonment to eight months against Mr. ELBAILLAL in a sentence of four months’ imprisonment. The charges against him were related to his participation in a Sahrawi students’ sit-in in May 2007. Mr. Said ELBAILLAL has been detained since his arrest on December 26, 2007 and he led a hunger strike from February 20 to March 30, 2008 to protest, among other things, against his conditions of detention.

The observation mission of human rights in Western Sahara, expelled by the Moroccan authorities (who wanted to show them that these rights are not respected more for some than for others except that they were spared from physical violence), Friday, April 25, 2008, was received at Roissy upon their arrival in France on the same day. The spokeswoman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pascale ANDREANI, stressed that the French four activists of human rights were not charged for any « criminal offence ». The Moroccan authorities had given as a reason for the expulsion that members of this mission disturb public order. These allegations have been strictly rejected by the mission members who considered that they were expelled because of their participation in a trial (of Sahrawi activists) and their contacts with associations defending the Sahrawis.