Wednesday, January 11, 2006

A new delay of the trial

El Aaiun (the occupied capital of SADR), 11/01/2006 (SPS)The 14 Saharawi political prisoners, condemned last December by the Moroccan colonial court to sentences going between 6 months to 3 years, will have to wait until January the 24th to be brought before the Moroccan colonial hearing court in El Aaiun, concordant sources indicated.

The families of the Saharawi political prisoners "rejected the decision of the Moroccan colonial court of hearing in El Aaiun, which decided postpone the trials of their sons for a supplementary period. They asked for the Saharawi people right to self-determination and expressed their solidarity with the victims of the flagrant human rights violations perpetrated by the Moroccan State against the Saharawi civil population".

The families also asked "that the torturers be brought before court, especially the responsible for the assassination of the young Saharawi, Lembarki Hamdi El Mahjoub, who died under torture last October the 30th 2005 in El Aaiun, and the persons accountable for the death of Mr. Likhlifi Abba Cheikh, who was killed in Tan Tan (south of Morocco) , by Moroccan police officer, Ahmed Nejib, last December the 03rd 2005, because he refused to give him a bribe, the same sources indicated.

Moroccan colonial court of El Aaiun condemned 14 Saharawi political detainees, Wednesday 14 December 2005, to sentences going between 6 months to 3 years imprisonment after having postponed the trials twice since last November the 22nd, it should be recalled.

The hearing, which started on Tuesday the 13th December 2005 at 9.00 am until Wednesday the 14th 06.00 am sentenced the following Saharawi detainees: El Wali Amaydan 6 months imprisonment, Aminatou Haidar 7 months, Ali Salem Tamek 8 months, Mohamed El Moutawakil, Houssein Lidri, Larbi Massoud and Brahim Noumria 10 months imprisonment, Mohamed Tahlil 3 years, while Hmad Hammad, Balla Mohamed, El Moussaoui Mohamed, Mahjoub Chtioui, Jenhi Lekhlifa and El Moussaoui Sidi Mohamed were sentenced to 2 years each, the same sources said.

Among the 14 Saharawi prisoners 7 Saharawi human rights activists are considered by Moroccan colonial authorities as the agitators of the demonstrations in favour of the independence of Western Sahara that are taking place in Western Sahara since last May the 21st 2005.

In a letter it sent last December 2005 to the king Mohamed VI, the international human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch, underlined that the "proceedings so far have shown that the defendants' rights to a fair trial were at risk", knowing that under Morocco's constitution, the king serves as the president of the country's judiciary, the NGO emphasised, it should be further recalled. (SPS)





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