Chahid El Hafed and occupied El Aaiún, July 24, 2026
AFAPREDESA EXPRESSES DEEP CONCERN OVER THE SERIOUS DETERIORATION OF NAÂMA ASFARI’S HEALTH AFTER 47 DAYS OF HUNGER STRIKE AND DEMANDS HIS IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE
The Association of Families of Sahrawi Prisoners and Disappeared Persons (AFAPREDESA) expresses its deep concern and alarm at the critical health condition of Sahrawi human rights defender and political prisoner Naâma Asfari, who today completes 47 days of an indefinite hunger strike, of which at least 11 days he has remained in a situation of enforced disappearance.
Naâma Asfari, vice-president of the Committee for the Respect of Freedoms and Human Rights in Western Sahara (CORELSO), began an indefinite hunger strike on June 8, 2026, as a legitimate form of peaceful protest against the ongoing violation of his fundamental rights and Morocco’s systematic failure to comply with the decisions of United Nations mechanisms.
AFAPREDESA strongly condemns the actions of the Moroccan occupation authorities against Naâma Asfari, which include total isolation, deprivation of telephone calls since July 13, forced transfer to a hospital without notification to his family or lawyers, and the deliberate concealment of information regarding his health condition. These repressive measures extend to his wife, Claude Mungán-Asfari, who has been prevented from visiting him since January 14, 2019.
Such actions could constitute enforced disappearance within the meaning of Article 2 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, ratified by the Kingdom of Morocco on May 14, 2013. Said article defines enforced disappearance as the deprivation of liberty followed by a refusal to acknowledge it or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the person, thereby removing them from the protection of the law. These practices also violate Article 1 of the Convention, which prohibits any enforced disappearance without exception.
AFAPREDESA expresses its solidarity with Naâma Asfari’s family, fully supports their legitimate demands, and reiterates its solidarity with all Sahrawi political prisoners, particularly Mohamed Lamine Haddi, Hassan Daha, Ahmed Sabai, Mohamed Bani, and the rest of the Gdeim Izik group, who have suffered continuous reprisals and arbitrary detention for over 15 years.
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PRESS RELEASE Issued by the Family of Sahrawi Human Rights Defender and Political Prisoner Naâma Asfari In response to the statement issued by the Moroccan General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration 23 July 2026 The family of Sahrawi human rights defender and political prisoner Naâma Asfari rejects the statement issued on Thursday, 23 July 2026, by the Moroccan General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration, stressing that it does not reflect the reality of his health condition or his human rights situation. This statement comes as Naâma Asfari continues his open-ended hunger strike, which began on 8 June 2026 and has now entered its seventh week, in protest against the denial of his fundamental rights, despite the decisions issued by the UN Committee against Torture (CAT/C/69/D/606/2014) and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD/2023/23). The family emphasizes the following: • Preventing Naâma Asfari from using the telephone since 13 July 2026 confirms his continued isolation from his family and lawyers. This measure forms part of a broader pattern of reprisals targeting both him and his wife, Claude Mangin-Asfari, who has been denied prison visits since 14 January 2019. Similar reprisals have also targeted his fellow prisoners in Kenitra and Tiflet prisons. • The family strongly condemns his transfer to a hospital outside the prison on 15 July 2026 without informing either his family or his legal counsel, as well as the continued withholding of information regarding his medical condition. • The family reiterates its call on the Moroccan authorities to immediately implement the decisions of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, respond to his legitimate demands, and end all reprisals against him. • It expresses its solidarity with Sahrawi political prisoners Mohamed Lamine Haddi, Hassan Dah, Ahmed Sbaï, Mohamed Bani and all members of the Gdeim Izik Group, condemns the reprisals they continue to face, and calls for respect for their rights and an end to the violations against them. The family holds the Moroccan authorities fully responsible for the safety and physical well-being of Naâma Asfari and urges the United Nations and international human rights organizations to intervene urgently to ensure his protection, guarantee his family and lawyers access to information regarding his health condition, and secure the implementation of the United Nations decisions concerning his case and that of his fellow prisoners from the Gdeim Izik Group. Family of Sahrawi Human Rights Defender and Political Prisoner Naâma Asfari |
INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
The serious deterioration of the health condition of Naama Asfari and of all Sahrawi political prisoners has only been possible due to the climate of total impunity enjoyed by Morocco, a direct result of the culpable inaction and active complicity of the international community.
We demand that the United Nations Security Council assume its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and that it adopt concrete and binding measures to end the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, guarantee respect for human rights, and enforce its own resolutions.
We urge the United Nations as a whole to move from declarations to urgent and effective action to protect Naâma Asfari’s life and prevent an irreversible tragedy.
We call on the European Union and its member states to stop prioritizing their economic interests — particularly their enthusiastic participation in the illegal exploitation of Western Sahara’s natural resources — and to stop turning a blind eye to the systematic human rights violations committed by Morocco. This active complicity fosters impunity and encourages the continuation of criminal practices against the Sahrawi people.
To Spain, in its capacity as the Administrative Power of Western Sahara until the decolonization process is concluded, we recall its special responsibility and its international obligation under Articles 73 and 74 of the United Nations Charter. Spain has the sacred duty to ensure the well-being of the Sahrawi people and to protect its citizens against any abuse. This obligation has been reaffirmed by Spanish judicial sentences, such as Sentence 40/2014 of Magistrate Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Sentence 1/2015 of Judge Pablo Ruz.
Morocco’s actions also violate the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons, as Western Sahara is a Non-Self-Governing Territory under Moroccan occupation (UN General Assembly resolutions 34/37 and 35/19). We demand that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) fully fulfill its humanitarian mandate in an occupation context and guarantee the protection of Sahrawi prisoners.
AFAPREDESA reminds all these international actors that United Nations mechanisms have clearly and repeatedly pronounced themselves on this case:
- The Committee against Torture (CAT/C/69/D/606/2014) determined that Naâma Asfari was tortured and demanded reparation, investigation, and an end to reprisals.
- The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD/2023/23) declared his detention, and that of 17 other colleagues from the Gdeim Izik group, arbitrary, demanding their immediate release.
We also recall:
- That on May 20, 2026, the Committee against Torture issued a strong statement on the systematic pattern of arbitrary detentions, torture, and coerced confessions against Sahrawi prisoners, including Naâma Asfari.
- That on July 15, 2026, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Andrea Bolaños Vargas, publicly intervened calling on Morocco to preserve Naâma Asfari’s life and to implement Opinion No. 23/2023 of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Despite this, Morocco persists in its policy of impunity, repression, and defiance of its international human rights obligations.
URGENT APPEAL
AFAPREDESA makes an urgent appeal to Spain, in its capacity as Administrative Power of Western Sahara, to the international community, to the United Nations, to the Security Council, to the European Union, to France, to the African Union, and to human rights organizations to act immediately and decisively before it is too late.
We demand that they take the necessary measures with the Moroccan occupation authorities to secure:
- The immediate and unconditional release of Naâma Asfari and all Sahrawi political prisoners from the Gdeim Izik group.
- The immediate cessation of all measures of isolation, torture, and reprisals.
- The resumption of visits by his wife, Ms. Claude Mangin, visits interrupted since January 14, 2019.
- Unrestricted access for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Sahrawi political prisoners through the immediate resumption of visits interrupted since 1996.
Naâma Asfari’s life is in imminent danger. His possible death will fall not only on the Moroccan authorities but also on those States and institutions that, through their silence or complicity, have allowed this injustice.
Immediate freedom for Naâma Asfari and all Sahrawi political prisoners!
End to the Moroccan occupation and the impunity that has prevailed for 50 years!