Morocco: human rights defender Brahim Sabbar released
Posted: September 2, 2008
Jailed in 2006 after an unfair trial, human rights defender Brahim Sabbar was released in Morocco in June 2008. He thanked Amnesty members for the messages of solidarity he received.
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Sahrawi human rights defender Brahim Sabbar was released on June 17, 2008, after serving two years in prison.
Brahim Sabbar is Secretary General of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State (ASVDH).
He was sentenced after unfair trials in 2006 and 2007, in what Amnesty International considers were politically motivated prosecutions.
Amnesty International believes that he was probably imprisoned for peacefully exercising his rights to freedom of expression and association, and campaigned on his behalf.
Brahim Sabbar was convicted, among various other charges, of “belonging to an unauthorized organization”, namely the ASVDH.
The ASVDH monitors and documents allegations of human rights violations by the Moroccan authorities and seeks justice for the Sahrawis who were victims of enforced disappearance in previous decades.
Brahim Sabbar was himself subjected to enforced disappearance between 1981 and 1991.
Despite poor health and stomach problems which developed during his disappearance and have been exacerbated by a recent hunger strike, Brahim Sabbar is determined to continue his human rights work. To date, however, the ASVDH has not been able to obtain legal registration.
Brahim Sabbar thanked Amnesty International members for the messages of solidarity he received during his first months of detention.