Sahrawi lawyer appeared in Moroccan court today

07 May 2007 | Information/Update

The Sahrawi lawyer, human rights defender and co-president of the CORELSO, Mr. Ennaâma ASFRAI, appeared today Monday May 5, 2007, before the Court of Appeal of El-Ayoune. Mr. ASFARI answered the charges of the court that his judgement comes in the context of the repression which falls on the Sahrawi population and represents an episode of a series without end of iniquitous lawsuits to which, Sahrawi human rights defenders are victims.

He also pointed out that the court must take into account, during this lawsuit, the hierarchy of the sources of legislations, especially conventions on the human rights that Morocco had signed and ratified, in particular: convention against torture and other sorrows or cruel treatments, inhuman or degrading, the Convention on the rights of the child, the Convention on the protection of the human rights defenders.

Mr. ASFARI has also stressed that his judgement comes in the context of the continuity of the violations of the human rights in Western Sahara and the denial of all the rights to the Sahrawi citizens. He also pointed out the violation of which are victims recently a great number of Sahrawi citizens and also what the Sahrawi students undergo these last days at university IBNOU ZOHR in Agadir (south of Morocco).

Mr. ASFARI also expressed his support for all the Sahrawi political prisoners, at their head the secretary general of the ASVDH, Mr. Brahim SABBAR, and his support for the fight of Sahrawi people to self-determination.

The court then decided of survey the meeting and that the sentence will be pronounced next on May 21.

We point out that two French lawyers, Maître France WEYL and Main Aline CHANU, as well as the Italian, Mr. Judge Nichola QUATRANO, had attended as observers this lawsuit. And in spite of the remarkable presence of the Moroccan security forces which encircled the court, some human rights defenders could infiltrate inside and assist the lawsuit, among them, Sidi Mohamed DADACH, president of the Committee for the Support of Self-determination for Western Sahara.