The CODESA Secretariat
The Collective of Sahrawi Defenders of Human Rights
El Aaiun,Western Sahara.
July 03rd, 2007.
The delay of the Sahrawi students’ trial in Marrakech, Morocco to
July 16th, 2007
On Monday, July 02nd, 2007, the Court of Appeal in Marrakech, Morocco
delayed the trial of 08 political prisoners to July 16th, 2007.
The delay was in response to the desire of the defence lawyers. Six
male Sahrawi students were brought from the local prison of Marrakech,
apart from the only female Sultana Khaya whose eye was gouged out by
the Moroccan police during the peaceful students demonstrations, and a
Moroccan student Aziz Ait Youssef. Both of them were sentenced to a
year-imprisonment suspended. The other six were convicted to a
year-imprisonment in effect at the court of first instance of Marrakech.
This is the second time the students’ trial is postponed. The reason
for this is that the defence had withdrawn from the court of first
instance, protesting against the absence of a fair trial conditions,
especially the openness of the trial. Thus, the students’ case was
discussed while they were out of the scene. The court of first instance
was completely surrounded by the police who had not allowed the
political prisoners’ families and other Sahrawi citizens to attend the
trial sessions.
It is worth-mentioning here that the Students’ case started on May
09th, 2007, when the Sahrawi students in Elqadi Aayad University (in
Marrakech, Morocco) where they study, were organizing a solidarity
sit-in with their comrades in Ibnou Zoher University (in Agadir,
Morocco). The Agadir students were repressed by the Moroccan
authorities because of their call for the Sahrawi people’s right to
self-determination.
The Moroccan forces also repressed the Sahrawi students in Marrakech
and arrested a number them, but released the majority after spending
different periods in custody.
The following six are still detained:
Abdelfattah Lyadassia, Eddah Mbairik, Mohamed Elaafwi, Hassan
Fatteh,Rachid Bennou, Mahmoud Lemquiti.
N.B. Sultana Khaya and Aziz Ait Youssef‘s verdict is suspended.
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