The EMHRN condemns the court-martial of the 24 Sahrawi activists in Rabat.
The EMHRN sent lawyer and EMHRN representative Michael Ellman out to observe the trial and after a series of adjournments – not all explained – the trial has at last been held and the verdicts have been extremely severe.
Of the 24 accused who risked the death penalty, eight have been given life sentences, four were sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment, another ten will go to jail for 20 to 25 years, and two will spend two years behind bars.
At the trial, many of the defendants said they had been tortured, but the Tribunal failed to investigate their claims. No proof of the accused’s guilt was brought forward, and the President of the Tribunal even refused to hear evidence from prosecution witnesses whose testimony was judged too shaky. In addition, the case file contains no proper substantive investigation (those killed or injured unidentified, an autopsy on only one of the 10 corpses, no DNA evidence, a videotape from which the defendants cannot be identified).
The courtesy and assistance of the President, and the fact that more than 50 foreign observers were admitted to the Court unfettered -after systematic search- had left hope for a more open and fair trial, but in this case the result -without explanation, at least for now- largely refuted this hope.
While a number of observers were allowed to attend the hearings and the lawyers were able to defend their clients, the fact remains that civilians have been tried by a military tribunal – the most exceptional of special courts – in violation of the Constitution.
The EMHRN condemns such an unconscionable trial which augurs ill for the government’s announced reform of the justice system. A full report on this trial will be published in the coming weeks.
The EMHRN calls on Morocco to stop criminalizing opposition in the Western Sahara and to put in hand the necessary reforms to do away with all special courts and to guarantee the right to a fair trial in all circumstances and to respect the freedoms of association, assembly and demonstration.