Release from the PCP Press Office

Solidarity with Sahrawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons

Solidarity with Sahrawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons

The PCP expresses its firm repudiation of the conviction to long prison sentences of the Sahrawi activists, known as the Gdeim Izik group, by the Moroccan authorities. As has been reported, 8 of the activists were sentenced to life imprisonment, 15 sentenced to a total of 289 years in prison, with one still awaiting sentencing.

It should be recalled that these Sahrawi activists were detained in 2010 by the Moroccan occupation forces while participating participated in the protest camp of Gdeim Izik, attended by thousands of Saharawi in the territories of Western Sahara illegally occupied by Morocco, in struggle for the recognition of their rights.

Determined to continue its intervention for the liberation of the Sahrawi activists held by the Moroccan authorities, the PCP also reaffirms its solidarity with the legitimate struggle of the Sahrawi people and their legitimate representative - the Polisario Front – for an end to the illegal occupation of Western Sahara by Morocco and for their inalienable right to self-determination, with a view to implementing their right to an independent and sovereign State, inseparable from their aspirations for freedom and social progress.

The PCP reiterates that it is the duty of the Portuguese Government, under the terms of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, to contribute by its action to a just solution for Western Sahara, which necessarily means the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people, in line and in accordance with International Law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.