Révolte des Sahraouis - Revolt of the Saharawis - Revuelta de los Saharauis

NEWS of 16/17 September 2005

The Black Prison headmaster in El Ayun, western Sahara bans Haidar's family from visiting Aminatou

On Friday, September 16, 2005, the headmaster of the Black Prison in El Ayun, did not allow Haidar's family and many other Sahrawi citizens from visiting the HR activist and political prisoner Aminatou Haidar.

The headmaster said that he received orders from the General Director of Moroccan prisons to do so. On the same day the Sahrawi HR activists' families in Casablanca were forbidden to see their sons going on an open-ended hunger strike since August 08, 2005.

Arrest of a Sahrawi citizen in Tantan

On September 17, 2005, the Moroccan secret services in Tantan have arrested the Sahrawi citizen, Hassana Mohamed Elhafed, at the entrance of 'Ameggar' (Mougar) festival in Tantan, south of Morocco. He was interrogated for two hours by a group of DST agents, and was asked about his former disappeared brother, Yahya Mohamed Elhafed, his relationship with the human rights activists and the reason behind his repetitive visits to the festival!!!?? Then he was released. Tantan festival is under very strict security control. A Saharawi journalist has also been questioned and forced to quit the area of the festival.

 The recent photos of the Black Prison embed the answer to the Moroccan minister of Justice declarations concerning the 'good' conditions in which the Sahrawi prisoners live

Everything was expected by the Moroccan authorities except that real photos of the inside of the Black Prison get out to the external world. The Moroccans have tried their best not to let neither international nor even Moroccan human rights nor parliamentary delegations to see the horrible conditions in which the Sahrawi prisoners live.

The Black Prison is one of the worst Moroccan prisons in terms of cleanness, food, space, visits, lack of communication means such as mobile phones, newspapers, etc.

The Moroccan authorities have been extremely surprised by the photos that got out of prison and unveiled the sad reality in which the Sahrawi prisoners live, crowded like sardine in hot atmosphere and even in dirty toilets!!!??

It is only after the publishing of the photos on different websites on the internet and in some other mass media that the Moroccan authorities in both the Black Prison and in Oukasha prison in Casablanca rushed up to clean and mend some part of it as well as providing abundant amount of medicines to the activists in Casablanca. They also brought them good food and promised to accept the applications of those who asked for transfer to other prisons in order to reduce the number of prisoners in the Black Prison.

16.09.05: La direction de la Prison noire interdit les visites à Aminatou Haidar, sur ordre, déclare-t-il de la direction générale des prisons marocaines. Même procédure pour les prisoniers à Casablanca

17.09.05: Arrestatios à Tantan
Les services secrets ont arêté le citoyen sahraoui Hassana Mohamed Elhafed, à l'entrée du Mougar (14 - 18.09.05, festival culturel et touristique traditionnel très réputé). Il a été interrogé durant 2 heures à propos de son frère, un ancien disparu, ses relations avec des activistes de droits humains sahraouis ainsi que les raisons de ses visites répétées au Mougar.

Le Mougar est placé sous un contrôle sécuritaire très poussé.

Les photos de la Prison noire suscitent des réactions

Alors que les autorités marocaines ont veillé scrupuleusement à ce qu'aucune délégation internationale ou marocaine de défense des droits humains ou de parlementaires ne puisse accéder à la Prison noire, les photos publiées récement permettent de se fare une idée des conditions catastrophiques qui y règnent.

Il s'agit d'une des pires prisons en ce qui concerne la salubrité, la nourriture, la place, les visites, les moyens de communication.

Après la publication de ces photos les autorités marocaines essayent d'un peu améliorer la situation: nettoyage, offre de nourriture et médicaments et promesse d'accepter des demandes de transfert vers d'autres prisons pour diminuer le surpeuplement.

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