Ali Salem Tamek
Encyclopedia
Ali Salem Tamek is a Moroccan
Sahrawi independence activist, human rights defender and trade unionist.
Ali Salem Tamek was born in Assa, southern Morocco
. He has emerged as one of the most outspoken Sahrawi dissidents under Moroccan rule. He is vice president of the Collective Of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA). He was active in Moroccan trade unions and leftist Moroccan spheres.
On September 13, 1993, he was detained for the first time among other Sahrawis in Moroccan-Algerian border at the region of Tata
, when he was trying to join the POLISARIO. He was condemned to one year in prison and a fine of 10.000 dirhams. On November 24, 1997 he was detained again in the Dakhla
region, trying to cross the Moroccan-Mauritanian border. Since 1997, he worked as a local administration functionary in Tuesgui (Assa-Zag region), but in April 2002 he was forcibly moved to Meknes
, 1.300 km. away from his home. In late 2002 he was sentenced to 2 years of prison and a fine of 10.000 dirhams after being detained on August 26 in Rabat
for "undermining the internal security of the state", as head of the Sahrawi branch of the human rights organization Forum for Truth and Justice. This led to him being adopted by Amnesty International
as a prisoner of conscience
. Morocco accuses him of being an agent for the Polisario Front
, which he denies, as he admits he supports the goal of the liberation movement, of holding a United Nations
backed referendum on independence. Tamek wishes Western Sahara to become an independent state under the auspices of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
, the government-in-exile created by the Polisario front, based in the Sahrawi refugee camps of Tindouf
, Algeria
.
While in prison he has been on numerous hunger strikes, and in 2003 came close to death, before being released in a general royal pardon on January 7, 2004, for the occasion of the implementation of the "Equity and Reconciliation Commission
". Due to the precarious conditions of detention in Moroccan jails, his health has worsened (He suffers asthma
, reumatism, skin allergies, etc...).
He has been the target of a smear campaign in the Moroccan press, and he complains of politically motivated harassment and threats to his life and family. A Moroccan weekly published a number with his face on the cover and the legend "Public enemy nº 1". His wife, Aicha Ramdan, reported in 2005 that in 2003 she had been raped by five policemen in front of her 3 year daughter, while visiting her husband in Agadir
prison. She declared that one of them was Brahim Tamek, cousin of her husband, and other Mbarek Arsalane, both members of the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (Moroccan police). She had asked for political asylum in Spain
. The Moroccan authorities had refused to recognize the name the family has given to their first daughter, Thawra. The name means "revolution" in Arabic
. For that reason, the family was illegally deprived of the family allowance that the Moroccan law gives.
On July 18, 2005 he was detained in El Aaiun
airport, when he was returning from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
, after touring Switzerland
, Italy
and Spain on conferences supporting the independence of Western Sahara. The European parliament
called for his "immediate release" in a resolution on October 27. On December 14, Ali Salem Tamek was sentenced to 8 months in prison by a Moroccan court in El-Aaiún, on accusation of incitement to trouble the public order during the Independence Intifada
. Both before and after the trial, Amnesty International
and Human Rights Watch
issued reports http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290082005http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290102005 with concerns that Ali Salem Tamek and other Sahrawi activists were not getting fair trials, and may be prisoners of conscience. He was released again by a general royal pardon in April 2006.
Tamek completed final secondary-school examinations in 2007, in Morocco, but wasn't allowed by the Moroccan authorities to study law and journalism.
On October 8, 2009, he was arrested with other six Sahrawi human rights activists (known as "The Casablanca 7") in the Casablanca Airport, when they returned from visiting family members at the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf
, Algeria
. The judge accused them of "threaten the security of the state", and sent the case to a military court. They were declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.
Tamek, Brahim Dahhane, and Ahmed Nasiri were freed on 23 April 2011, just before they were set to begin a hunger strike to protest the conditions of their imprisonment.
(Spain
).
On March 14, 2010 he was awarded with the I "Jose Manuel Méndez" human rights and social justice prize, given by the citizens platform "Asamblea por Tenerife
".
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
Sahrawi independence activist, human rights defender and trade unionist.
Ali Salem Tamek was born in Assa, southern Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
. He has emerged as one of the most outspoken Sahrawi dissidents under Moroccan rule. He is vice president of the Collective Of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA). He was active in Moroccan trade unions and leftist Moroccan spheres.
Biography
He has been jailed five times for nationalist activities, fired from his job, and for a long period of time had his passport confiscated.On September 13, 1993, he was detained for the first time among other Sahrawis in Moroccan-Algerian border at the region of Tata
Tata, Morocco
Tata is a town in Morocco with a population of around 15,192.It is situated on the Sahara plain, southeast of Agadir and Taroudannt, close to the Algerian border and the mountain range Anti Atlas at the foot of Jebel Bani....
, when he was trying to join the POLISARIO. He was condemned to one year in prison and a fine of 10.000 dirhams. On November 24, 1997 he was detained again in the Dakhla
Dakhla
Dakhla may refer to:*Dakhla Oasis, Egypt*Dakhla, Western Sahara*Dakhla Airport...
region, trying to cross the Moroccan-Mauritanian border. Since 1997, he worked as a local administration functionary in Tuesgui (Assa-Zag region), but in April 2002 he was forcibly moved to Meknes
Meknes
Meknes is a city in northern Morocco, located from the capital Rabat and from Fes. It is served by the A2 expressway between those two cities and by the corresponding railway. Meknes was the capital of Morocco under the reign of Moulay Ismail , before it was relocated to Marrakech. The...
, 1.300 km. away from his home. In late 2002 he was sentenced to 2 years of prison and a fine of 10.000 dirhams after being detained on August 26 in Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
for "undermining the internal security of the state", as head of the Sahrawi branch of the human rights organization Forum for Truth and Justice. This led to him being adopted by Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
as a prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
. Morocco accuses him of being an agent for the Polisario Front
Polisario Front
The POLISARIO, Polisario Front, or Frente Polisario, from the Spanish abbreviation of Frente Popular de Liberación de Saguía el Hamra y Río de Oro is a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement working for the independence of Western Sahara from Morocco...
, which he denies, as he admits he supports the goal of the liberation movement, of holding a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
backed referendum on independence. Tamek wishes Western Sahara to become an independent state under the auspices of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about...
, the government-in-exile created by the Polisario front, based in the Sahrawi refugee camps of Tindouf
Tindouf
Tindouf is the main town in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian and Moroccan borders. The region is considered of strategic significance, and it houses Algerian military bases. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front a guerrilla...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
While in prison he has been on numerous hunger strikes, and in 2003 came close to death, before being released in a general royal pardon on January 7, 2004, for the occasion of the implementation of the "Equity and Reconciliation Commission
Equity and Reconciliation Commission
The Equity and Reconciliation Commission is a Moroccan human rights and truth commission created on January 7, 2004 by King Mohammed VI in order to reconcile victims of human rights abuses, such as torture and atrocities committed by Makhzen during the Years of lead, with the State.IER is...
". Due to the precarious conditions of detention in Moroccan jails, his health has worsened (He suffers asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
, reumatism, skin allergies, etc...).
He has been the target of a smear campaign in the Moroccan press, and he complains of politically motivated harassment and threats to his life and family. A Moroccan weekly published a number with his face on the cover and the legend "Public enemy nº 1". His wife, Aicha Ramdan, reported in 2005 that in 2003 she had been raped by five policemen in front of her 3 year daughter, while visiting her husband in Agadir
Agadir
Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region .-Etymology:...
prison. She declared that one of them was Brahim Tamek, cousin of her husband, and other Mbarek Arsalane, both members of the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (Moroccan police). She had asked for political asylum in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. The Moroccan authorities had refused to recognize the name the family has given to their first daughter, Thawra. The name means "revolution" in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. For that reason, the family was illegally deprived of the family allowance that the Moroccan law gives.
On July 18, 2005 he was detained in El Aaiun
El Aaiún
El-Aaiún , is a city in Western Sahara founded by the Spanish in 1928. Administered by Morocco since 1976, El-Aaiún is the capital of what the Moroccan government call the region of Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra, and POLISARIO call Occupied Territories...
airport, when he was returning from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...
, after touring Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Spain on conferences supporting the independence of Western Sahara. The European parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
called for his "immediate release" in a resolution on October 27. On December 14, Ali Salem Tamek was sentenced to 8 months in prison by a Moroccan court in El-Aaiún, on accusation of incitement to trouble the public order during the Independence Intifada
Independence Intifada
The Independence Intifada is a Saharawi Polisario activist coinage for a series of disturbances, demonstrations and riots that broke out in May 2005 in the Moroccan-held parts of Western Sahara. This event has also been called "The El-Aaiun Intifada" by the same sources...
. Both before and after the trial, Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
and Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
issued reports http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290082005http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290102005 with concerns that Ali Salem Tamek and other Sahrawi activists were not getting fair trials, and may be prisoners of conscience. He was released again by a general royal pardon in April 2006.
Tamek completed final secondary-school examinations in 2007, in Morocco, but wasn't allowed by the Moroccan authorities to study law and journalism.
On October 8, 2009, he was arrested with other six Sahrawi human rights activists (known as "The Casablanca 7") in the Casablanca Airport, when they returned from visiting family members at the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf
Tindouf
Tindouf is the main town in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Mauritanian and Moroccan borders. The region is considered of strategic significance, and it houses Algerian military bases. Since 1975, it also contains several Sahrawi refugee camps operated by the Polisario Front a guerrilla...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. The judge accused them of "threaten the security of the state", and sent the case to a military court. They were declared prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.
Tamek, Brahim Dahhane, and Ahmed Nasiri were freed on 23 April 2011, just before they were set to begin a hunger strike to protest the conditions of their imprisonment.
Awards and nominations
On June 10, 2005 he was awarded with the III "Juan Antonio González Caraballo" Solidarity Prize, in a ceremony in SevilleSeville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
).
On March 14, 2010 he was awarded with the I "Jose Manuel Méndez" human rights and social justice prize, given by the citizens platform "Asamblea por Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
".