western sahara: human rights record 'blemished', says rights group

News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *

23 October 2002
MDE 29/004/2002

On the eve of the conclusion of his appeal trial, Amnesty
International today called for the immediate and unconditional
release of prisoner of conscience Ali-Salem Tamek, a human rights
activist imprisoned for his views in favour of independence for the
disputed territory of Western Sahara.

The trial of 29-year-old Ali-Salem Tamek comes at a time when an
alarming number of Sahrawi (Western Saharan) civil society activists,
many of whom are perceived to have pro-independence tendencies, are
being persecuted by the Moroccan authorities.

"While significant steps have been taken to push back the boundaries
of freedom of expression in recent years, the persecution of peaceful
opponents of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara remains a
serious blemish on their human rights record," Amnesty International
said today.

Ali-Salem Tamek is a prominent activist in the Western Sahara branch
of the Forum for Truth and Justice -- an association set up in 1999
to campaign for the rights of victims and families of victims of
torture, "disappearances" and other human rights violations. He was
sentenced on 10 September 2002 to two years' imprisonment and a fine
of 10,000 Moroccan dirhams (about US $1,000) for "undermining the
internal security of the state".

Tamek's conviction was based on two elements. The first was his
stated belief that Western Sahara should be an independent state. The
second was a statement made by three former Sahrawi prisoners of
conscience during questioning by Moroccan security forces in 1999
that Tamek received funds from the Polisario Front, the
pro-independence movement based in neighbouring Algeria. Tamek has
denied the accusation.

The three former prisoners, who were sentenced on similar charges in
2000 to four years' imprisonment, but released in November 2001
following a royal pardon, have alleged that the statement was
extracted from them under torture. Their allegations have never been
investigated.

Tens of other Sahrawi civil society activists have been the subject
of harassment and intimidation by the Moroccan authorities in recent
months. Many have been members of the Western Sahara branch of the
Forum for Truth and Justice.

Some have been arrested, remanded into custody and brought to trial
on apparently politically motivated charges. Others have been
arrested and released after being questioned about their alleged
support of the Polisario Front. Several are reportedly denied a
passport.

Two members of the Western Sahara branch of the Forum for Truth and
Justice, Abdessalam Dimaoui and Ahmed Nasiri, were reportedly beaten
in police custody during the summer in an attempt to force them to
sign police statements admitting they had instigated violence at an
anti-government protest last year. Both denied the charge. Dimaoui
was acquitted after nearly two months' detention. Nasiri is still
awaiting the outcome of his trial.

In September 2002 five members of the Sahara Unemployed Association,
which believes Sahrawis are discriminated against in the Western
Sahara job market, were sentenced to up to one year in prison on
public order charges after participating in a demonstration on the
right to work. All were convicted on the basis of police statements
which they refused to sign.

Background

Western Sahara is the subject of a territorial dispute between
Morocco, which annexed the territory in 1975 and claims sovereignty
there, and the Polisario Front, which calls for an independent state
in the territory and has set up a self-proclaimed government-in-exile
in refugee camps in southwestern Algeria.

A UN Settlement Plan was agreed to in 1988 by both the Moroccan
authorities and the Polisario Front and was approved by the UN
Security Council in 1991. After more than a decade of conflict, both
parties agreed that a referendum in which the Sahrawi population
would be asked to choose between independence and integration into
Morocco would be organized and conducted by the UN Mission for the
Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). The referendum was originally
set for 1992, but has been repeatedly postponed.

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