Tindouf camps: Peruvian Council condemns arbitrary detention of three activists

The Peruvian Council of Solidarity with the Sahrawi people has called for the immediate release of the three Sahrawi activists who have been held without trial in Dhaibiya Prison since last June, for having demonstrated against human rights violations in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps in Algeria.

In a statement relayed Peruvian newspaper “La Razon”, the council condemns the arrest of Moulay Aba Bouzid, Fadel Braka and Mahmoud Zidane, saying that the three men were “unfairly accused of alleged criminal acts and treason” and of “slander, insults and incitement to rebellion”.

Such accusations, says La Razon, are punishable by severe sanctions ranging from long prison sentences to the death penalty.

The statement, signed by the President of the Peruvian Council, Ricardo Sanchez Serra, also states that the three Sahrawis are “subjected to harassment and intimidation” in their detention.

The three activists were arrested for denouncing human rights violations, restrictions on freedom of expression and circulation, and corruption, and tyranny of Polisario leaders, La Razon newspaper added.

The detention without trial of the three Sahrawi activists has been denounced as arbitrary by several international NGOs, including Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The Peruvian Council, which has been for a long time a staunch defender of the Polisario’s separatist theses, has reconsidered its position by declaring last May that “self-determination” and “independence” are no longer a viable option for the Western Sahara conflict. The Council argued that this option is “neither realistic nor pragmatic and does not respond to a mutually acceptable solution”.

Earlier, in February, the President of the Council called on the Polisario to accept the autonomy plan presented by Morocco to the UN in 2007 as a political solution to end the conflict. The plan is “a potential approach to satisfy the aspirations of the Sahara populations,” he said.

As a reminder, this pro-Polisario council, which was named just few months ago, the “Peruvian Solidarity Council with the SADR”, changed its name to become “The Peruvian Council of Solidarity with the Sahrawi people” after it realized the true aims of the separatist front and its Algerian sponsors.