Moroccan police brutally disperse self-determination protest in Western Sahara
10/03/2010 | Newsletter
Brahim Sabbar
Yesterday twenty Sahrawi citizens were injured during a violent intervention by Moroccan police to disperse a peaceful demonstration on the main street of the Maatallah quarter in El-Aaiun, Western Sahara.
Dozens of Saharawi citizens, among them human rights activists, were peacefully protesting to demand self-determination for their people, when police intervened in force to disperse them. The Secretary General of ASVDH, Mr. Brahim Sabbar, was injured.
Human rights defender and co-chair of CORELSO, Mr. Neaama Asfari was beaten on the back.
Meriem Mghizlat received heavy blows to her face, her eyes bruised and swollen.
Degna Moussaoui was struck on her mouth and lost some of her teeth.
The Saharawi citizen Hayat Rgaibi is hospitalized as a result of beatings.
The human rights activist Ahmed Hamya and the Western Saharans Ahdi Manna and Dahba Hamdi Nefaa were also injured .
The ASVDH strongly condemns these practices witch affecting the Sahrawi human rights defenders and seek to intimidate and discourage them from doing their work.
In the next weeks, the Security Council will discuss the report of the Secretary General of the United Nations , the ASVDH exploit this opportunity to appeal the UN to expand the powers of its Mission in the Western Sahara to include human rights monitoring and reporting
El-Aiun, Western Sahara
10 March 2010
