Petition: Western Sahara Appeal for Release of Sahrawi Prisoners

The Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States of America

and The Honorable Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations:

We the undersigned citizens from nations around the world and leaders and representatives of many non- governmental organizations appeal to you to demand that the King of Morocco immediately release the Sahrawi Akdeim Izik's political prisoners currently held in Sahrawi prisons since November 2010.

These Sahrawis civilians were subjected to arbitrary arrest and torture before being subjected to a mock military trial and given from twenty years to life sentences. Their imprisonment and torture is a direct violation of numerous international conventions to which Morocco is a party.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT: AHMED SBAI, SIDI ABDEL JALIL LAARUSSI, LAKHFAUNI ABDALAHI, MOHAMED EL BACHIR BUTANGIZA, BRAHIM ISMAILI, SIDAHMED LEMJAYED, MOHAMED BANI, ABDELAHI ABHAH.

30 YEARS IN JAIL: ENNAAMA ASFARI, CHEIKH BANGA, BURIAL MOHAMED, HASSAN DAH.

25 YEARS IN JAIL: DEICH DAFFI, MOHAMED LAMINE HADDI, MOHAMED MBAREK LAFKIR, MOHAMED KHOUNA BABAIT, EL BAKAY LAARABI, EL HUCEIN AZAUI, ETAWBALI ABDALAHI.

20 YEARS IN JAIL: EL BACHIR KHADDA, MOHAMED TAHLIL.

We consider this to be a matter of great urgency as each day they face potential death from their imprisonment.

With the upcoming meeting of the United Nations Security Council we furthermore call upon you, President Obama, as the leader of the Free World and you, Secretary General Ban, as the leader of the United Nations, to ensure that the long promised referendum on Western Sahara will occur in 2015 in order to resolve the conflict over Western Sahara in accordance with international law and bring an end to the horrific human rights abuses being committed against the Sahrawi people by the Kingdom of Morocco.

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