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Rabat – A viral video shows prisoners condemning alleged inhumane conditions in one of the worst prisons in Tindouf.
The leaked video shows two men complaining about the mistreatment and poor conditions they face from the prison management.
The first man who appears in the video said he was subjected to torture despite his health condition.
The man said he is suffering from complications due to lung surgery.
His health condition meant he should be transferred to hospital, however, the Polisario Front did not allow him to leave.
The second prisoner also reported torture and neglect, complaining about racism in prison.
One of the prisoners also spoke of prisoners being raped by leading members of the Polisario Front.
The prisoner said that the facility hosts people with mental illness, minors, and people with special disabilities.
Edhibia has appeared in several reports on torture and inhumane conditions.
In 2019, pro-Polisario news outlet Futuro Sahara published an investigation, criticizing human rights violations in the prison.
The report recounted the case of Sahrawi detainees.
The investigation said that the prison has only seven cells, with scores of prisoners.
The report drew attention to the use of torture and solitary confinement.
“A minor mistake can lead a prisoner to an isolated cell, abuse, physical torture from the gendarmerie. If ever one dies in the prison [ due to torture] there is nothing easier than making it seem like a suicide.”
Futuro Sahara described the prison as one of the worst jails in North Africa.
In 2019, families of former convicted activists cited the torture and inhumane conditions prisoners face.
One of the activists described the conditions in the prison as “miserable.”
The 2020 annual UN Secretary-General report on the situation in Western Sahara listed a series of struggles Sahrawis are facing in Tindouf.
The UNHCR estimates the number of Sahrawis living in the region to be 90,000.
The UN frequently reports on malnutrition and diseases Sahrawis face due to the struggles they face in the camps.
The UN Chief, Antonio Guterres, stressed the hunger pandemic and a high prevalence of anemia afflicting “Sahrawi refugee children and women” in the camps.
The hunger pandemic, according to Guterres, has prevailed in the camps for several years.
Several NGOs and governments lashed out at Polisario, calling on Algeria to shoulder its responsibility and engage in the UN-led political process to find a mutually acceptable solution to end the Western Sahara conflict.
Although Algeria hosts, finances, and arms Polisario members, the country claims that the solution to the conflict should be between Polisario and Morocco.
The UN Human Rights Council, however, put a spotlight on Algeria’s responsibility in the human rights violations against distressed Sahrawis in the Tindouf camps.
On March 1, Sahrawi human rights activist Adnane Braih spoke about the situation of the Sahrawis during the 46th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. During the meeting, Braih condemned “the silence in the camps of Tindouf in the southwest of Algeria, where the Polisario and its armed militants are sowing terror.”
