Western Saharan President calls on European Parliament to save Sahrawi political prisoners in Sale.

Sahrawi president Mohamed Abdelaziz called in a letter addressed Wednesday to the European Parliament's Intergroup for Western Sahara to put pressure on the Moroccan government to release immediately and unconditionally the 21 Saharawi political prisoners who are on hunger strike in Sale prison near Rabat in Morocco since October 31st 2011.

The letter underlined that the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) has reported that the detainees “are victims of abuse by the prison administration. Some of the prisoners are in poor health state and do not always receive the care state require,” Said the Sahrawi presidential correspondence.

The same letter said the President of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), Khadija Ryadi, said “the fact that they are subject to a military court is a violation of the standards of fair trial,’’ since they are civilians, they should not appear before a military court.”

The Intergroup noted that the European Parliament has repeatedly expressed its concern on human rights in the Saharawi territories illegally occupied by Morocco, expressing condemnation on latest abuses.

The call requested that the European Parliament and the EU member states to take all necessary measures likely to guarantee the physical and psychological health of the 21 Saharawi detainees.