Ivry-sur-Seine (France) June 12, 2026 (SPS) – The Mayor of the French city of Ivry-sur-Seine, Mr. Philippe Buisseau, called on the French authorities to take action to guarantee the full rights of the Sahrawi political prisoner Naama Asfari, an honorary citizen of the French city, who has been detained by the Moroccan occupation authorities since the fall of 2010.
This came in a statement issued by the city’s mayor against the backdrop of the open hunger strike initiated by Sahrawi political prisoner Naama Asfari since June 8, under the slogan “The Battle of Dignity,” in order to implement the recommendations contained in the decisions of the United Nations Committee against Torture and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in the case of the Gdeim Izik detainees.
The statement explained that Naama Asfari, the Sahrawi human rights defender and honorary citizen of the city of Ivry-sur-Seine, went on an open hunger strike to alert the international community to the non-implementation of UN recommendations related to his case, to denounce the conditions of detention of Sahrawi prisoners, and to remind the Moroccan government of its international obligations in the field of respect for human rights and international law.
The statement stressed that Western Sahara, as a former Spanish colony, remains, in accordance with Resolution 1514 of the United Nations General Assembly issued on December 14, 1960, a colonized territory, and that its final status still needs to be determined, highlighting that the United Nations supports the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination.
The statement added that the Security Council, by its Resolution No. 690 (1991), established the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), charged with accompanying the peace process and organizing a self-determination referendum.
The statement indicated that Naama Asfari has been involved for many years in defending the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and to liberate their lands, recalling that he was arrested in the city of Laayoune in November 2010, and sentenced to thirty years in prison by a military court despite being a civilian, at the conclusion of procedures that were not compatible with the right to a fair trial.
The statement also stated that the United Nations Committee against Torture concluded that Naama Asfari was a victim of acts of torture, while the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that his deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and recommended his immediate release.
In this context, the mayor of the city of Ivry-sur-Seine called on the Moroccan authorities to release Naama Asfari and respect their international obligations related to basic rights. He also called on the French authorities to take action to guarantee the rights of Naama Asfari and the Sahrawi people.
The statement stressed that defending human rights, international law, and the right of peoples to self-determination lies at the heart of the values of the city of Ivry-sur-Seine, considering Naama Asfari an honorary citizen of the city.
At the conclusion of his statement, Mr. Philippe Buisseau reiterated the solidarity of the city of Ivry-sur-Seine with Naama Asfari, his family and the Sahrawi people, stressing that the defense of human rights, international law and the right of peoples to self-determination remains at the core of the city’s values. (Was)
090/500/60 (Was)
