THE RELEASE OF MOHAMED DADDA DOES NOT ERASE THE ARBITRARINESS OF HIS DETENTION NOR MOROCCO’S IMPUNITY
Chahid El Hafed, 4 March 2026 – The Association of Families of Sahrawi Prisoners and Disappeared (AFAPREDESA) welcomes with immense joy the release, which took place on 3 March 2026, of the Sahrawi political prisoner Mohamed Dadda. Mr. Dadda is a member of the historic “Group of Students” or “El Wali Group,” a collective of young activists detained in 2016 for their peaceful defense of the right to self-determination of Western Sahara.
A CASE DOCUMENTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS
Mohamed Dadda, a student and activist, was arrested on 29 January 2016 for his peaceful activism in favor of the self-determination and independence of Western Sahara. Sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Moroccan court, he was successively transferred to several prisons, including Ait Melloul 1 and the occupied Smara prison. Throughout his detention, he denounced systematic torture, carried out multiple hunger strikes and peaceful protests. His health severely deteriorated, as documented in UN reports and by Sahrawi organizations between 2018 and 2025.
His case, together with that of the rest of the Student Group, was examined by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Opinion A/HRC/WGAD/2019/67, which expressly declared that his detention was arbitrary and demanded his immediate release. The Group stressed that the students had been imprisoned solely for their activism and their support for the right to self-determination, using as main evidence confessions obtained under torture.
SEE WGAD A/HRC/WGAD/2019/67:
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3933409/files/A_HRC_WGAD_2019_67-EN.pdf
The Kingdom of Morocco never implemented this UN decision. On the contrary, the young students suffered acts of reprisal precisely for having resorted to UN mechanisms (see A/HRC/45/16).
TWO SAHRAWI STUDENTS REMAIN IN PRISON
Until 3 March 2026, three members of the Student Group were still serving prison sentences. With the release of Mohamed Dadda, two remain in Moroccan prisons:
- Abdelmoula Mohamed El Hafidi
- Hussein Bachir Brahim
AFAPREDESA recalls that Hussein Bachir Brahim was imprisoned in January 2019 after being deported from Spain where he had sought political asylum, and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in October 2020. The confessions obtained under torture from the Student Group were also used against him. His situation was the subject of joint communications from the UN Special Procedures (JAL MAR 2/2020 and AL MAR 5/2020), which expressed grave concern over the lack of evidence and the violation of fundamental rights.
DEMANDS AND CALLS
- The immediate and unconditional release of the two Sahrawi students who remain imprisoned: Abdelmoula Mohamed El Hafidi and Hussein Bachir Brahim.
- The immediate freedom of all Sahrawi political prisoners.
- The effective implementation of all Opinions and recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and of the UN Special Procedures.
- The end of the systematic policy of repression, torture, and arbitrary detention against the Sahrawi people, starting with the release of all political prisoners and the clarification of the fate of the 445 disappeared Sahrawis.
TO THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN, in its capacity as Administering Power of Western Sahara according to the United Nations — as expressly recognized by the UN Charter and successive resolutions of the General Assembly until the decolonization process is completed — we demand that it immediately assume its international responsibilities. It must demand the immediate release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, put an end to its complicity with the Moroccan occupation, and fulfill its legal obligation to protect the civilian population and facilitate the holding of a self-determination referendum, the only legitimate means to end the illegal occupation of Africa’s last colony.
AFAPREDESA issues an urgent appeal to the international community, European institutions, and especially the Spanish Government to act with the urgency required by international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Immediate freedom for all Sahrawi political prisoners!
Spain, fulfill your responsibility as Administering Power!
Decolonization now!