Polisario appeals to UN chief over hunger strike by Gdim Izik detainees

Wednesday 07 - 18:00

The Polisario Front has brought the issue of Sahrawi detainees back to the attention of the United Nations, reviving a long-running dispute over prisoners linked to the 2010 Gdim Izik camp.

In a letter addressed on October 6 to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Polisario leader Brahim Ghali called for international intervention over what he described as an indefinite hunger strike involving nine Sahrawi prisoners held in Moroccan prisons.

Ghali urged the UN chief to act to secure the release of what he described as Sahrawi civilian prisoners, with particular emphasis on those convicted in connection with the Gdim Izik case.

According to the Polisario account, the detainees began refusing food on September 23 while being held at Ait Melloul 2, Tiflet 2 and Kenitra prisons. The movement was presented as a protest against their detention conditions and alleged violations of international humanitarian law.

Morocco disputes the number of hunger strikers

Moroccan authorities have challenged the figures contained in Ghali's letter.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Morocco's General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration said that it had identified five detainees from the group as participating in a hunger strike, rather than the nine cited by the Polisario leadership.

The prison administration also said that the remaining detainees associated with the Gdim Izik case were continuing to eat normally.

Moroccan authorities further rejected the suggestion that the protest was directly connected to prison conditions. According to the DGAPR, the detainees concerned are receiving the medical care considered necessary, both inside correctional facilities and at hospitals outside the prisons when required.

The conflicting accounts underscore the wider political sensitivity surrounding the case, with the two sides presenting sharply different interpretations of both the prisoners' demands and their treatment.

Gdim Izik remains a politically charged case

The dispute is rooted in the events surrounding the dismantling of the Gdim Izik camp near Laayoune in November 2010. The camp had become a major focal point of protest in Western Sahara before Moroccan security forces moved to dismantle it.

The subsequent violence resulted in the deaths of 11 members of Morocco's security forces. Several detainees were later convicted in connection with the events, making the Gdim Izik case one of the most contentious judicial files associated with the Western Sahara dispute.

The Polisario has repeatedly used the situation of these prisoners as part of its international campaign. Among the figures previously highlighted by the movement is Naâma Asfari, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison over his role in the events surrounding the camp's dismantling.

UN scrutiny adds diplomatic weight

The latest development comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the Western Sahara dossier, as the UN Security Council is expected to review the issue this month.

By addressing the matter directly to Guterres, the Polisario is seeking to place the prisoners' situation within the broader international debate over Western Sahara and human rights.

Morocco's response, meanwhile, reflects its effort to contest the Polisario's narrative and emphasize the authorities' account of the detainees' medical care and prison conditions.

The competing claims are likely to keep the Gdim Izik detainees in the spotlight as diplomatic discussions over Western Sahara enter another important phase. The hunger strike dispute therefore extends beyond the prison system, becoming another point of confrontation in the broader political struggle between Morocco and the Polisario Front over the territory's future.