Morocco Denies Amnesty International Claims on Gdeim Izik Prisoner Case

General view of Tiflet Prison, where Sahrawi activist Mohamed Lamine Hadi was being held (Asharq Al-Awsat)
General view of Tiflet Prison, where Sahrawi activist Mohamed Lamine Hadi was being held (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT
20

Morocco Denies Amnesty International Claims on Gdeim Izik Prisoner Case

General view of Tiflet Prison, where Sahrawi activist Mohamed Lamine Hadi was being held (Asharq Al-Awsat)
General view of Tiflet Prison, where Sahrawi activist Mohamed Lamine Hadi was being held (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration denied on Tuesday recent claims by Amnesty International regarding torture and human rights violations against a prisoner detained in connection with the Gdim Izik Incidents.

The country’s prison authority said in a statement that the prisoner, detained at the local prison of Tiflet 2 over Gdim Izik case which dates back to 2010, “has never been subjected to any assault by the prison staff.”

“Like all inmates, he enjoys all the rights stipulated in the law regulating prisons.”

The Gdeim Izik incident involved a protest camp, known as Gdeim Izik, which was set up by a group of people demanding greater economic and social opportunities.

Moroccan security forces dismantled the protest camp in November 2010, which lead to clashes with Polisario members, who killed 12 police officers.

The Administration said that Amnesty International is “spreading a set of lies by seizing the propaganda of the enemies of Morocco’s territorial integrity, and trying to turn it into facts without making any effort to verify its authenticity.”

In addition, it described the NGO’s practices as a “blatant violation of the basics of the human rights work that the organization claims to practice.”

In its recently published report on “the state of the world’s human rights,” Amnesty International claimed that “torture and other ill-treatment continued with impunity both inside and out of prisons, particularly against Sahrawi activists.”



Trump Cites Progress on Gaza Hostage Talks

Trump Cites Progress on Gaza Hostage Talks
TT
20

Trump Cites Progress on Gaza Hostage Talks

Trump Cites Progress on Gaza Hostage Talks

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said progress was being made regarding the return of the hostages being held in Gaza and that he was dealing with both Israel and Hamas, but he gave no other details about the talks.

Israel resumed its war against Hamas in Gaza last month after an eight-week ceasefire collapsed. The ceasefire brought a much-needed reprieve from the fighting to war-weary Palestinians in Gaza and sent an infusion of humanitarian aid to the territory. It also led to the release of 25 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza and the return of the remains of eight others, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Mediators have since attempted to bring the sides to a bridging agreement that would again pause the war, free hostages and open the door for talks on the war's end, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he won't agree to until Hamas is defeated. Hamas wants the war to end before it frees the remaining 59 hostages it holds, 24 of whom are believed to be alive.
The war, which was sparked by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel, has seen the deadliest fighting between Israelis and Palestinians in their history. It has ignited a humanitarian crisis in already impoverished Gaza, and has sent shockwaves across the region and beyond.