Human Rights Watch Calls for Release of Sahrawi Activists Detained in Algeria

On its website, Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced the arbitrariness and the return to torture, while at the same time launching an appeal for the release of activists Moulay Abba Bouzid and Fadel Mohamed Breica, as well as journalist Mahmoud Zeidan, reports TelQuel.

"The exiled government that administers the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria is holding three dissidents in detention while a judge investigates them for treason and other grounds," HRW denounces from Tunis. According to the reported facts, this captivity would have occurred between June 17 and 19, 2019.

According to the human rights organization, the three men have been in captivity for nearly a month, despite "a lack of evidence of criminal activity".

"The Sahrawi authorities should credibly establish that Bouzid, Breica and Zeida may have committed genuinely criminal acts, and not just peacefully criticized the Polisario Front," says Lama Fakih, HRW’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

Faithful to its line, the NGO hammers: "Algeria cannot outsource the protection of human rights on its territory, and turn a blind eye if the Polisario violates them." Lama Fakih is already calling for the release of the detainees, in the absence of evidence.