Kenitra (Morocco), May 23, 2026 (SPS) – Sahrawi political prisoner Naama Asfari, a member of the Gdeim Izik group and currently detained in Kenitra prison in Morocco, began a 48-hour hunger strike on Tuesday in protest against the continued violations committed by the Moroccan authorities against Sahrawi political prisoners and Morocco’s refusal to implement the recommendations of United Nations human rights mechanisms.
This hunger strike, the third in less than a month, comes at a time when the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in its Opinion No. 23/2023, reaffirmed the arbitrary nature of the detention of the Gdeim Izik prisoners, calling for their immediate release and appropriate compensation.
According to Sahrawi human rights organizations, the Moroccan authorities continue to ignore international appeals and keep Sahrawi detainees in detention conditions that have been condemned by several non-governmental organizations and UN bodies.
The Association of Friends of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (AARASD) called on the international community, human rights organizations, and the United Nations to pressure Morocco to respect its international obligations and put an end to the violations targeting Sahrawi political prisoners.
