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Forwarded from: CODESA
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27 March 2009
Forwarded Alert: Western Sahara/Morocco – After 46 day-hunger strike, Yahya Mohamed Elhafed suspends his hunger strike
Thanks to the pressure of the international and local human rights organisations as well as the Sahrawi people’s friends all over the world that the Moroccan authorities have accepted to inaugurate a face to face dialogue with the Sahrawi human rights defender, (member of the CODESA and AMDH, Tantan Branch) Yahya Mohamed Elhafed.
According to Yahya’s family, the prison principal started a dialogue with Yahya on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 in order to cater for his legitimate demands, which may be summarised in the following:
1. Ceasing his punishment, for the political views he holds, by taking him out of his solitary confinement, where he has already spent 43 days hunger striking.
2. Conducting a fair and transparent investigation into the torture he and the other Sahrawi political prisoners were subjected to on April 04th, 2009.
3. Treating him as a prisoner of conscience in order to benefit from his legitimate rights (nourishment, medical care, newspapers, family visits, etc.)
The prison principal promised him to allow him all his rights; and only for this reason, Yahya has suspended his unlimited hunger strike.
However, the CODESA expresses its concern about this new development. It is very probable that this would only be an attempt to stop the hunger strike, since various kinds of ill-treatment and psychological pressure did not work with Yahya.
The Moroccan authorities are trying their best to make Yahya and the other Sahrawi political prisoners appear in a fairly good health during the trial in the Court of Appeal in Agadir, Morocco.
The trial will take place in about a week’s time in front of the international observers that generally come from Spain, Italy and Britain.
The Executive Board of the CODESA,
El Aaiun, Western Sahara
May 21st, 2009.
Source: CODESA, http://saveyahyaslife.blogspot.com/
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