Paris, June 13, 2026 (SPS) – The Association des Amis de la République Arabe Sahraouie Démocratique (AARASD-France) has launched a broad international mobilization campaign calling for the release of the Sahrawi political prisoners of the Gdeim Izik group, while urging human rights organizations to support the indefinite hunger strike initiated by Sahrawi political prisoner Naama Asfari.
In an open letter addressed to major international human rights organizations, AARASD-France stated that Naama Asfari began this action after several 48-hour hunger strikes conducted between April and May 2026. Through these protests, he sought the implementation of Opinion No. 23/2023 issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which concluded that the detention of the Gdeim Izik prisoners was arbitrary and called for their immediate release.
The association emphasized that the Moroccan authorities have not acted on this UN opinion despite numerous recommendations issued by international human rights protection mechanisms.
AARASD-France also sent a letter to Staffan de Mistura, the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara, urging him to intervene on behalf of the Sahrawi detainees of Gdeim Izik, who have been imprisoned for more than 16 years.
In its letter, the association recalled that several decisions by the United Nations Committee Against Torture found violations of the Convention Against Torture in cases involving Gdeim Izik prisoners, including Naama Asfari, Sidi Abdallah Abbahah, Abdeljalil Al-Aaroussi, Mohamed Bourial, Mohamed Bani, Hassan Dah, Mohamed Lamin Haddi, Ahmed Sbai, and Sidi Ahmed Lemjiyed.
According to AARASD-France, these decisions determined that the convictions against the prisoners were based, in part, on confessions allegedly obtained under torture or coercion, without any independent and effective investigation into the allegations made by the detainees.
The association considered that the continued detention of the Gdeim Izik prisoners, despite the findings of UN mechanisms, raises serious concerns regarding Morocco’s compliance with its international obligations, particularly under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.
AARASD-France further considers the issue of the Gdeim Izik prisoners to be both a humanitarian and political dimension of the Western Sahara conflict. It maintains that the release of the detainees would constitute an important confidence-building measure that could contribute to UN efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting solution to the conflict.
In its communication to the United Nations, the association specifically called on Staffan de Mistura to require Morocco to implement the decisions of the Committee Against Torture, comply with Opinion No. 23/2023 of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and include the issue of the Gdeim Izik prisoners among the humanitarian measures accompanying the UN-led political process.
At the same time, AARASD-France appealed to national and international human rights organizations to strengthen their mobilization and solidarity with Naama Asfari and all Sahrawi political prisoners currently held in Moroccan prisons.
