Rabat – Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) issued a statement today responding to claims attributed to a group of detainees convicted in the Gdeim Izik case regarding their decision to launch hunger strikes.
The prison authority said that six of the 19 detainees concerned submitted formal notices on September 23 declaring that they would begin hunger strikes.
The DGAPR rejected claims that the move was linked to the detainees’ conditions of detention, saying it considers the action part of a broader political context surrounding the Western Sahara dispute.
According to the authority, the hunger strike was initiated at the direction of the Polisario Front and groups it described as aligned with opponents of Morocco, amid preparations for an upcoming UN Security Council meeting on the issue.
The statement also pointed to media statements and publications by what it described as these parties, saying they promoted the hunger strike campaign at the same time as the detainees announced their action.
Prison authority cites previous clarifications
The DGAPR said it has previously issued several statements addressing the detention conditions of the Gdeim Izik detainees.
These statements, according to the authority, covered medical care provided both inside and outside prison facilities, as well as measures allowing detainees to continue their education at different levels.
The administration also said the detainees are provided with accommodation that meets required standards, in line with conditions available to other prisoners.
The statement did not provide further details about the six detainees who declared the hunger strike or specify the duration or demands associated with the action.
Dispute over transfers to southern provinces
The DGAPR also addressed calls for the detainees to be transferred to prisons in Morocco’s southern provinces.
The authority said it had previously explained that the sentences imposed on those convicted in the Gdeim Izik case do not correspond with the classification used for prisons in those provinces.
It added that one detainee was nevertheless transferred after his request was accepted, moving to the local prison in Laayoune.
The Gdeim Izik case refers to a 2010 tragedy that occurred on the outskirts of Laayoune, when a group of Moroccan security forces was killed by Polisario members. The officers had been tasked with dismantling the Gdeim Izik camp, where people had been living in protest of the unemployment and lack of opportunities in the city of Laayoune.
Over 70 people were injured during the massacre, in addition to the 12 members of police that the group murdered.
On July 29, 2017, the Sale Court of Appeal sentenced 23 defendants in connection with the incident to prison terms ranging from two years to life imprisonment.
Charges were pressed against the suspects for forming “criminal gangs and violence against public forces that led to their death with premeditation, the mutilation of corpses, and complicity.”
Sahara vote puts Autonomy Plan in focus
The latest statement comes as the Western Sahara dispute enters another important phase at the United Nations, with the Security Council expected to vote on the renewal of the UN mission’s mandate next month.
The timing has placed renewed attention on the Gdeim Izik detainees and their demands, particularly as Morocco continues to advance its Autonomy Plan as the basis for a political settlement. Security Council Resolution 2797, adopted in October 2025, already called for negotiations based on Morocco’s Autonomy Plan and extended the mandate of MINURSO until October 31, 2026.
For Rabat, the upcoming vote comes within a broader diplomatic momentum around its position on the Sahara.
Morocco has increasingly emphasized its Autonomy Plan, which provides for local management of economic, political, and social affairs under Moroccan sovereignty, as the framework for achieving a lasting and mutually acceptable settlement.
The Moroccan government has described Resolution 2797 as a significant development in the UN process and a roadmap toward resolving the regional dispute.
Against this backdrop, the hunger strike announcements come amid the wider political context surrounding the upcoming UN Security Council deliberations on the Sahara issue. The move was promoted by the Polisario Front and its supporters as part of a broader political campaign surrounding the dispute.
