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Rabat – French lawyer and author Hubert Seillan is taking the case of disappeared Polisario member Ahmed El Khalil to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva.
Algerian intelligence services and the Polisario Front kidnapped El Khalil, a leading Polisario member, in 2009 two months after Polisario appointed him to monitor human rights in Tindouf camps.
Seillan, a lawyer at the Parts Court of Appeal, brought the case to light at the UN 4th Committee in October.
El Khalil’s family asked the French lawyer to take on the case, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) reported.
“Ahmed El Khalil was denouncing the systems when he was arrested. Since then, he was never seen again,” Seillan said.
Read Also: Polisario Remains Silent About Forced Disappearance of Ahmed El Khalil
The lawyer explained that he met El Khalil’s family during one of his trips to Smara.
“It was in Smara and one of his brothers and then a second one came and asked me to help them see things clearly and defend Ahmed El Khalil’s interests,” he said.
He added that he also met one of the missing Polisario member’s sons.
“Today, the whole family confirmed this mission to me,” he said.
El Khalil was born in Tan-Tan in southern Morocco. He decided to join Polisario in 1977.
Seillan emphasized his determination to get to the bottom of El Khalil’s case.
For several months, El Khalil’s relatives have been protesting his forced disappearance in Tindouf, calling on the leader of the Polisario front to disclose information on his continued disappearance.
The lawyer said that he started the procedure by sending a complaint to the prosecutor in Algiers. As yet he has received no response.
“I am currently considering filing a complaint with the International Criminal Court and the UN HR Committee in Geneva,” he said,
He added that he will give the case “all necessary attention.”
The lawyer recently published “Moroccan Sahara: Space and Time,” a book that narrates the history of Western Sahara and its inherent Moroccanness.
