Collectif des défenseurs sahraouis
      des droits de l'homme
               CODESA

A report on the repression of the Moroccan authorities to the Sahrawi students in the Moroccan universities



The Moroccan universities have been witnessing during the period from May 03rd to 17th, many arrests among the Sahrawi students  after the violent interventions  of the Moroccan authorities in order to disperse the protestors in the Students’ campuses. The Sahrawi students were protesting, calling for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and denouncing the flagrant violations of human rights perpetrated by the Moroccan state in the Western Sahara and the South of Morocco.

The following students, from Ibnou Zohr university in Agadir, were arrested: Chain Ahmad, Alamine Lemghaifri, Elfilali Mahmoud, Gdali Abazaid, Chwaiaar Mahmoud. They are now in the Local Prison of Inezegane, waiting for their trial.

In Elqadi Aayadh university, Marrakech, many students were injured, others were arrested and then released except seven who are still in the Local Prison of Marrakech:

1. Abdelfattah Alyadassia: a first year student at the Law and Economic Studies College, University of Marrakech.

2. Mbairik Eddah: A student in a private institute in marrakesh.

3. Mohamed Elaarbawi: A second year student of Philosophy at the Literature and Human Sciences College in the Elqadi Aayadh university , Marrakesh.

4. Rachid Bennou: A first year student of the Arab Literature in the Faculty of Letters in Marrakesh.

5. Hassan Fateh: A first year student of the Arab Literature in the Faculty of Letters in Marrakesh.

6. Lemquiti Mahmoud: A first year student of the Arab Literature in the Faculty of Letters in Marrakesh.

7. Ait Youssef Aziz: A second year student of Social Studies in the faculty of Letters and Human Sciences at the university of Elqadi Aayadh in Marrakesh.

Adding to all these the Sahrawi militant, Soltana Khaya, who is in custody after being subjected to a surgery operation in Al Antaqui Hospital in Marrakesh, as she lost her right eye as a result of the savage torture. She was arrested among other female Sahrawi students on May 09th, 2007 near Alqadi Aayqdh university by some Moroccan police agents.

In Casablanca, the Saharwi university students were attacked by the Moroccan authorities on May 10th, 2007, and encouged armed militias to chase the Saharawi students and beat them. The result of this was the violent attack by a sharp utensil against the Sahrawi student, Omar Swayah, who was later on arrested by the Moroccan authorities. He was presented at the King’s prosecutor of the court in Casablanca, but was released  later.

Because of the Moroccan blockade that the Sahrawi students suffer from, they had to leave the students’ campuses. Some of them have desperately gone further: A student, Salma Leghzal, as aprotest of protest burned himself,which let serious burns in his back. Five students in Marrakesh intended to do the same, but their friends prevented them from doing so.

On May 17th, 2007 at about 4 a.m., the Moroccan police attacked the sit-in of the Sahrawi students in the Swissi Campuses I and II in Rabat. They took all the slogans and the students’ luggage, then they broke into their rooms and arrested many of them after being brutalised. Many students were injured and 20 were arrested, some of them released while the others are still in the Wilaya of Rabat under custody. These students are:

Mohamed Ali Ndour,
Moulay Ahmed Aillal,
Ennajem Sghayar,
Mohamed Laalaoui,
Elhoucine Essaleh,
Brahim Alamine,
Mohamed Elhassne Ellaili,
Brahim Elgharrabi,
Ezzaz Elouali, and
the ex-political prisoner,
Lakhlifi Ejjanhaoui.


CODESA secretariat
El Ayun/Western Sahara
May 20th,2007