Olof Palme Center condemns the arrest of Saharawi activists
Brahim Dahane, invited as one of the central speakers at the official opening of the Palme Days, was unable to attend the event. Moroccan authorities arrested him a few days ago.
The annual Palme Days in Stockholm, organised by the Olof Palme International Center, opened today. But one of the invited speakers, Saharawi activist Brahim Dahane, wasn't able to attend.
Moroccan authorities have stopped Dahane from leaving Morocco and travel to Sweden. He has been arrested along with six other human rights activists at Casablanca airport.
Brahim Dahane is the president of the human rights association ASVDH, the Saharawi Association of Human Rights Victims. He was invited to the Palme Days to talk about Western Sahara and Morocco’s occupation of the country.
"The Moroccan regime is an occupying power. Now they've stopped Brahim Dahane from coming to Sweden, just as the Iranian regime last year stopped Parvin Ardalan from receiving the Palme Prize. Only states that are afraid of people’s yearning for freedom act in this way," said Jens Orback, the Palme Center’s General Secretary.
"We condemn the Moroccan action and call for the immediate release of Dahane and the other detainees. We demand that the Swedish government condemns the arrest and that the Swedish Embassy in Rabat, based on Sweden’s stance on human rights, lends its support to Dahane so he can to continue working for democracy," said Jens Orback.
The state-controlled Moroccan news agency (MAP) writes that those arrested will be interrogated by police and then brought to court.
Africa's last colonySince 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
Since 1975, three quarters of the Western Sahara territory has been illegally occupied by Morocco. The original population lives divided between those suffering human rights abuses under the Moroccan occupation and those living in exile in Algerian refugee camps. For more than 40 years, the Saharawi await the fulfilment of their legitimate right to self-determination.
