Front Line is gravely concerned for the wellbeing of three human rights defenders from Western Sahara, Mr Khalihna Mrabbih Aboulhassan, Mr Brahim Elmekhtar Baryaz and Mr Alisalem Lehbib Ablagh, who have been on a hunger strike in Boulmharez prison in Marrakech since 13 February 2009, to protest against their detention and prison conditions.

Further Information

All three men are university graduates and active members of the Sahrawi Committee for the Defence of Human Rights in Glaimim, an organisation that documents human rights abuses in Western Sahara. Brahim Elmekhtar Baryaz, deputy secretary-general of the organisation, and Alisalem Lehbib Ablagh were transferred to Ibnou Toufail hospital in Marrakech on 30 March and 4 April respectively as a result of deterioration in health condition.

Khalihna Mrabbih Aboulhassan, aged 27, from Tantan, south Morocco, was arrested by Moroccan police in Marrakech on 13 April 2008, and was sentenced, on 11 September 2008, to two years' imprisonment for alleged acts of violence during a demonstration. Brahim Elmekhtar Baryaz, aged 27, a political science masters student at the University Hassan 1 of Settat, and Alisalem Lehbib Ablagh, aged 29, were both arrested in Glaimim, south Morocco, on 12 December 2008 while participating in a demonstration to protest against the death of two Sahrawi students. They are facing charges of alleged acts of violence but have not yet been brought to court.

Front Line is concerned that Khalihna Mrabbih Aboulhassan, Brahim Elmekhtar Baryaz and Alisalem Lehbib Ablagh are being detained for their legitimate and peaceful activities in protest against human rights violations in Western Sahara.