The Moroccan regime continues its repression of Sahrawi activists in the occupied territories. The Saharawi Human Rights Collective (Codesa) said Moroccan authorities physically or verbally attacked 17 people in the Western Sahara city of Laayoune to prevent the independent organization from holding its first national congress.

A Codesa statement confirmed that on Saturday, a group of human rights activists, bloggers and Sahrawi civilians “were subjected to serious reprisals” by authorities in Morocco, the country that controls the territory West Saharaas the Sahrawis say Front Polisario.

According to Codes, this crackdown began on Saturday morning when Moroccan agents “besieged the house of Sahrawi prisoner of public opinion and human rights activist Ali Salem Tarek” in the Laayoune region where the congress was to be held.

Tamek is a founding member and now an advisory member of Codesa, one of Western Sahara’s main associations that advocates for the territory’s independence referendum and was formerly led by Sahrawi activist Aminatou Haidar.

“This ban, contrary to international humanitarian law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, occurred after the various intelligence services of the Moroccan occupying forces completely besieged the house, as well as all the alleys and streets surrounding the El Mostaqbal area in the center. the occupied city of Laayoune,” the statement said.

He adds that they did the same on other avenues and streets of the city “in order to prevent a group of human rights activists from bloggers, media and Sahrawi militants from attending the congress.”

Some of them were victims of physical and verbal attacks, the organization said, numbering 17 people who were allegedly attacked, while others (about thirty) were not allowed to attend the meeting.

“The Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA) planned to hold its first National Congress in honor of kidnapped Sahrawi student and martyr Hassan Tamek under the motto “Together implement international humanitarian law in the Western Hemisphere of the Sahara.” and guarantee the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and sovereignty over their natural resources” after the Preparatory Committee has completed its reports to the Congress,” the note states.

“We call on the international community and all international human rights organizations and bodies to support the organization and oppose the prohibitions and restrictions to which we are constantly subjected under occupation,” the statement said.