A human rights campaigner from Western Sahara who spoke out against the Moroccan occupation of his country on a BBC documentary is among six hunger strikers in a critical condition after a month without food.
The prominent peace activists are being held in prison and could face the death penalty if found guilty of trumped-up charges levelled against them. Amnesty International has adopted them as prisoners of conscience and human rights groups have called for their immediate release.
Rachid Sghir appeared in the BBC documentary Tropic of Cancer broadcast in March. He was arrested and beaten immediately after giving a secret interview in which he condemned the unlawful 35-year occupation of Western Sahara and the resulting human rights abuses suffered by Saharawi people.
Jeremy Corbyn, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Western Sahara, said: “I am very afraid for their safety. They are being persecuted for exercising their right to express their political opinion and for engaging in legitimate activities. The treatment they are suffering is, however, common in a territory where human rights defenders are regular victims of arbitrary arrest, sexual violence, torture and ‘disappearance’.”
