Rabat – Sixteen Sahrawis are calling for urgent help, complaining about torture and mistreatment in the Eddhaibia prison in Tindouf, Algeria.
Ex-Polisario officer Mustafa Salma Sidi Mouloud told Morocco World News that he personally called an office in charge of human rights and refugees in Rabouni, demanding freedom of movement and the right to protest for Sahrawis.
On Monday, Mustafa Salma posted on his Facebook page an announcement from several Sahrawis, who were arrested for their involvement in peaceful protests in Rabouni.
Morocco World News received recordings of the prisoners, who condemned lack of freedom to protest and torture inside prisons.
Mustafa Salma said that the prisoners called on the human rights office in Rabouni to intervene and urge the Polisario Front to release them.
Mustafa Salma said that “one of the detainees, who was severely beaten at the gendarmerie, complained of severe pain and was not treated by a doctor.”
The activist added that the detainee also announced his decision to go on a hunger strike despite his poor health.
Mustafa Salma also shared 10 names of the detained activists, including another prisoner with wounds allegedly caused by torture.
The Sahrawi told MWN that he told the human rights office about the arrest of 16 people on Monday.
Read Also: Polisario Deploys Military Tanks to Disperse Protests in Tindouf, Attacks Protesters
“I want to protest, but they are not letting me. I also want to condemn lack of freedom of movement. This is one of the complaints that I conveyed to the woman working in the human rights office,” Mustafa Salma said.
Mustafa Salma posted on his Facebook that the Polisario Front issued orders to arrest the most famous writer in the camps, known as Moula Abou Zayed. The order came after he filed a complaint to the human rights office in Rabouni against attacks on protesters.
According to Mustafa Salma, the front is preparing to charge the Sahrawi for incitement to disrupt public order.
Continuous protests
Since the beginning of the month, the Polisario Front has been under pressure because groups of Sahrawis have been carrying out sit-ins and protests in front of the Secretariat of the separatist group and the self-styled “Ministry of the Interior” to condemn tightened restrictions on freedom of movement in the camps.
Mustafa Salma wrote on Sunday, April 28, that the front used force to disperse protesters in the camps.
Mustafa Salma said there has been “violent intervention in a demonstration in the camps.”
“The police ran over protesters with security vehicles, causing ‘serious injuries,’” he added.
The activist also shared photos of military tanks, accusing Polisario of deploying them against protesters.
Several photos and videos posted online purport to show the ongoing demonstrations in Rabouni. Videos on YouTube show protesters shouting slogans, such as “Freedom of movement” and “Freedom.”
Polisario allegedly prevents cars from leaving the camps more than once in 20 days.
