AFAPREDESA
The Association for the Families of Saharawi Prisoners and the Disappeared
Arrest and torture of Mr. Mohamed TAHLIL, president of the local committee of the section of the ASVDH in Boujdour
18 April 2007 El-Ayoune, Western Sahara
AFAPREDESA
has received the sad news of a new arrest, this time Mr. Mohamed TAHLIL,
president of the local Committee of the section of the
ASVDH in Boujdour.
As many other sahrawi human rights defenders, he has been previously arrested
and imprisoned by Moroccan "authorities". This time, and once again he
was victim of savage torture, yesterday Tuesday April 17, 2007, towards
9:00 am, in El Aayoune. Mr. TAHLIL, who planned to attend the lawsuit
of the Sahrawi political prisoners, which took place yesterday, was arrested,
at a police checkpoint, at the entry of El Aayoune by a group of Moroccan
policeman, amongst them was "Touhima", whose real name is Mr. Aziz
and Mr. ELKAMOURI, both from the judiciary police.
BREAKING NEWS:
The latest news gathered by AFAPREDESA in colaboration with ASVDH tell
us that the human rights defender was given a brutal torture in the mentioned
checkpoint, and was then taken to the judiciary police premises where he
continued to receive the same brutal treatment.
At around 23:00 pm at night he was taken to the outskirts of the city,
where he was severely beaten, he was taken his clothes off and the Moroccan
"authorities" poured cold water on him and tried to bury him alive.
Our friend was then abandoned by the "police". Fortunately
Mr Tahlil was able to drag his feet to a town where a sahrawi family took
care of
him.
Yesterday, 18th April 2007, Mr Sr. Tahlil found it in his own right and
had the courage to go to the police station to pick up the few belongings.
Nobody has heard of his whereabouts since then! His colleagues
at the ASVDH, are certain that he is not in the same police stations.
AFAPREDESA once and again strongly denounces this abusive detention, and
we demand that the Moroccan occupation authorities, put Mr. Tahlil in unconditional
freedom, inmediately.
We take this example of our lack of the most basic human rights to invite
the international community to intervene and help us find an end to the
dramatic situation the sahrawi people has had to bear since
and because of the ilegal colonial ocupation by the kingdom of Morocco.
AFAPREDESA. 18 de Abril de 2007
Sahrawi Refugee Camps