Geneva-Paris, 31 July 2026. Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA), an independent Sahrawi human rights organisation and member of the OMCT network, has recently been subjected to renewed restrictions on movement, electricity cuts, surveillance, and intimidation in occupied Western Sahara.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership between the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), strongly condemns the continued targeting of CODESA's President Ali Salem Tamek, Vice-President Khadijetou Douih, CODESA member El Maalouma Falankhi,, CODESA Administrative Committee member Bachir Bouamoud, and their children, in retaliation for CODESA's legitimate human rights work. The Observatory urgently calls on the Moroccan authorities to put an end to the acts of reprisal against CODESA which are part of a longstanding and systematic pattern of repression against Sahrawi human rights defenders in occupied Western Sahara.
The Observatory has reported several incidents involving repeated sieges and surveillance of the private homes of CODESA members in occupied Laayoune. On 20 May 2026, Moroccan police, accompanied by officials of the Moroccan administration, intensified surveillance around the residence of Ali Salem Tamek in the Al Mostaqbal neighbourhood of occupied Laayoune. His home was once again placed under a de facto siege, continuing a recurring pattern of restrictions and harassment. In the same context, Moroccan police prevented El Maalouma Falankhi, her minor daughter Khalifa Mojahid, and El Bachir Bouamoud from accessing an apartment located in the same building under siege. The Observatory is also concerned by the ongoing siege imposed on the residence of Khadijatou Douih on 20 May 2026. Her home remains under constant surveillance and encirclement by Moroccan forces for more than two months.
The Observatory has also received information that the homes of several CODESA members have been subjected to deliberate electricity cuts. On 20 May 2026 electricity to the residence of Ali Salem Tamek was deliberately cut and part of the electrical meter was reportedly damaged. According to Khadijetou Douih’s testimony, electricity to her residence was deliberately disconnected by Moroccan police officers at approximately 7:45 p.m. on 20 May 2026.
Civil society actors have also been targeted through Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) aimed at silencing their human rights activities in support of the rights of the Sahrawi people. On 8 June 2026, Essalek Baber, a member of the CODESA Administrative Committee, along with El Barr El Kentawi and Abdessamad Tigga, two Sahrawi students, were sentenced by the Court of First Instance in Guelmim to six months’ imprisonment and fines in connection with events linked to a welcoming ceremony held for the release of Sahrawi political prisoner Elhoucine Bourkba. Essalek Baber and El Barr El Kentawi are both former Sahrawi political prisoners whose previous detention was found to be arbitrary by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which called for their immediate release.
According to information received, a Moroccan administrative official holding the rank of Pasha threatened and verbally provoked Mr. Tamek in the presence of his ten-year-old son. The child had previously been subjected to detention and intimidation by Moroccan police, conduct that seriously undermines the child's psychological and physical integrity and constitutes a serious violation of his fundamental rights. Ms. Douih further reported continuous harassment against her, which has had significant psychological impact on her two daughters, both under the age of eight. The Observatory has also received information that Nabiha Bounnane, a member of CODESA's Tan-Tan branch, has been subjected to persistent threats and escalating harassment because of her peaceful human rights activities and her support for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. Another reported incident concerns Boujemaa Benmoussa, a member of CODESA's Dakhla branch, who was detained on 13 May 2026 by Moroccan authorities at the Guerguerat checkpoint upon returning from an event in the Sahrawi refugee camps in southwestern Algeria. He was subjected to a humiliating search and questioning about his activities and travel.
These incidents are not isolated but form part of the broader pattern of repression against CODESA and Sahrawi human rights defenders. Threats were directed against El Khalifa Ragbi, a CODESA member and the wife of Ali Salem Tamek while Hassan Zerouali, a member of CODESA's Administrative Committee and its Dakhla branch, was subjected to a home raid on 19 January 2025. At the same time, other Sahrawi human rights defenders continue to face reprisals while being detained, such as the journalist El Bachir Khadda and the defender Naâma Asfari, imprisoned since 2010 following the Gdeim Izik unfair trial, who face intimidations and inadequate medical care. An additional documented incident occurred on 1 March 2025, when Moroccan authorities removed and destroyed surveillance cameras installed at the home of Ali Salem Tamek, which also serves as CODESA’s temporary headquarters, as part of a broader pattern of harassment against CODESA and its members.
The Observatory notes that United Nations human rights mechanisms, notably several UN Special Rapporteurs, have repeatedly expressed concern regarding these reprisals against Sahrawi human rights defenders, including members of CODESA, as outlined in communications such as AL MAR 3/2025 on 20 March 2025. They have consistently called upon Morocco to ensure that all CODESA members and human rights defenders are able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of retaliation.
The reported reprisals against CODESA members engage rights protected under international human rights law, including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association enshrined in Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the right to self-determination recognised in Article 1.
The Observatory calls on the Moroccan authorities to immediately cease the restrictions on movement of Ali Salem Tamek, El Maalouma Falankhi, Khadijatou Douih, El Bachir Bouamoud and all members of CODESA, and to put an end to all forms of intimidation, harassment, surveillance, arbitrary detention, and verbal or physical attacks targeting members of CODESA and all Sahrawi human rights defenders, and to ensure that they are able to carry out their legitimate human rights work freely and safely.
The Observatory further urges the Moroccan authorities to conduct prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into the siege of private residences, the deliberate disruption of electricity and all other reported violations, with a view to identifying those responsible and ensuring full accountability.
The Observatory further calls upon the United Nations, in light of its responsibilities regarding Western Sahara, and the wider international community to take effective measures to address the ongoing violations committed against Sahrawi civilians, including through independent investigations into allegations of reprisals and other serious human rights violations. It also urges all United Nations bodies and international human rights organisations to ensure that Sahrawi human rights defenders are able to carry out their legitimate work without restrictions or fear of reprisals, in full accordance with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
The Observatory will continue to closely monitor the situation of Sahrawi human rights defenders in occupied Western Sahara and reiterates its full solidarity with all those who continue to peacefully defend human rights despite persistent repression.
