Tuesday 12 March 2013, Parliament House, CanberraThe Australian Parliamentary Friends of Western Sahara organised an event in support of Western Sahara at the Federal Parliament on 12 March 2012.

The event included a special screening of “Sons of the Clouds – The Last Colony”, a documentary presented by award-winning Spanish actor Javier Bardem about the conflict over Western Sahara, the last remaining colony in Africa.

Janelle Saffin Member of Parliament and Chair of the Australian Parliamentary Friends of Western Sahara opened the event with a speech in which she said:

“Tonight, in the name of Western Sahara, we welcome diplomats, parliamentarians and the press to our film viewing.

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Pambazuka News, February 2013

Konstantina Isidora, editor of Pambazuka Press, has brought together a brilliant collection of perspectives on WS.

Read collection of articles in this issue >>

Her own article “Another Moroccan ‘coup de théâtre’”  on the Gdeim Izik trial incisively brings together all aspects of the trial and the injustices meted out to the Saharawi prisoners.
Full text of article >>

(Washington, DC – Feb. 20, 2013) The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is deeply disturbed by the mistreatment and the military trial of 25 Sahrawi in Morocco. The RFK Center calls for a full investigation into the alleged torture of the prisoners and calls into question Morocco’s use of military courts in trying civilians. (Cont….)

Press Release 20 Feb 2013 >>

Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights: Press Release

(Feb. 28, 2013 – Brussels) Today, Santiago A. Canton, Director of RFK Partners for Human Rights, testified before the European Parliament on the findings of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights (RFK Center) international human rights delegation to Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK Center, led the delegation in August 2012, and Mr. Canton was invited to present the findings of the delegation by the Honorable Norbert Neuser and the Intergroup on Western Sahara.

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Human Rights Council, 28 Feb 2013

Full report >>
Among the recommendations, these ones apply particularly to WS:

97. With regard to Laâyoune, Western Sahara, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Government:
(a) Investigate promptly all allegations of torture and ill-treatment during
and after demonstrations and at the Prison of Laâyoune; hold the perpetrators
accountable and provide compensation to the victims;

(b) Reconsider the jurisdiction of the military court over civilians in the case of the 23 Sahrawi men detained at Salé Prison 1 and assure that as a principle. civilians are not sentenced by military courts;
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20 Feb 2013 :   Trial of 24 Akdeim Izik- Report from Equipo Mediático

The trial of the Saharawis kept in prison for political reasons after the attack against the «Akdeim Izik» protest camp by the Moroccan authorities on November 8, 2010, started on February 8, 2012 in Rabat before the Moroccan Military Court, after having been postponed twice. They have all denounced the charges against them and demonstrated that they were false and fabricated for this specific event.

Many testified that they had been regularly tortured and humiliated during interrogations to the point they feared to die there from.

The overall and the day-to-day course of the trial are reported herein, as well as some specific elements of each political prisoner’s intervention before the court.

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Copenhagen, 20 February 2013 – 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.
EMHRN report >>

The Guardian, Letters, 20 February 2013

The Guardian has published a letter about the Saharawi trials from the Western Sahara Action Forum – a group working on human rights monitoring in the UN mission’s mandate.  The letter describes the trials as a travesty of justice…..

Read letter published by The Guardian >>

A press release about the letter has been put out by the Free Sahara Network (based in London)
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Monday 18 February 2013

“The Moroccan authorities have ignored calls to try the defendants in an independent, impartial civilian court. Instead they have opted for a military court where civilians can never receive a fair trial.” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International…..(cont.)

Read Amnesty International comments >>