ProtectDefenders.eu has been informed of continued acts of harassment, intimidation and surveillance of members of the Sahrawi Defenders’ Collectif des Droits Humains (CODESA), a collective created in 2002 to promote respect for human rights in the occupied territory of Western Sahara, document violations and advocate for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination.
On 19 January 2025, Mr. Hassan Zerouali, a member of the Administrative Committee of CODESA and its local branch, was violently attacked along with his father by the police during a field visit with other representatives of international civil society. A few days before the police raid on 15 January 2025, Hassan Zerouali and another member of the Administrative Committee of CODESA, Mr. Salah Dlimi, were arrested by the Moroccan police and subjected to physical and verbal abuse.
With specific regard to CODESA, ProtectDefenders.eu was also informed that in 2007 the Moroccan authorities prevented the holding of the organization’s constituent congress, while in 2023 they were prevented from holding their first national congress, thus violating the rights of its members to freedom of association and peaceful assembly. Mr. Ali Salem Tamek — Chairman of CODESA, was also physically harassed. Over the years, CODESA members, including Ms. El Khalifa Ragbi and Ms Khadijatou Douih, have been continuously harassed by the Moroccan authorities.
ProtectDefenders.eu has also received information about the multiple physical attacks by the Moroccan authorities against Sahrawi human rights defenders, members of the Sahrawi Association for Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH). The harassment occurred during a peaceful protest to mark the 49th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Republic, demand the release of Sahrawi prisoners from Moroccan jails, and denounce the illegal visits by the French Minister of Culture and the President of the French Senate to the occupied part of Western Sahara.
These attacks are particularly worrying given the International Court of Justice’s recognition of Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, and the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights’ judgment finding that Morocco’s occupation is a violation of the right to self-determination and independence.
These acts of intimidation and attacks are part of a more general context of repression against these organisations and all human rights defenders in Western Sahara to hinder their ability to carry out their legitimate human rights work.
