Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State
Encyclopedia
Asociación Saharaui de Víctimas de Violaciones Graves de los Derechos Humanos Cometidas por el Estado Marroquí (Spanish
for the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights Committed by the Moroccan State; Arabic
,جمعية الصحراوية لضحايا الانتهاكات الجسيمة لحقوق الإنسان المرتكبة من طرف الدولة المغربية; French
, Association Sahraouie des Victimes des Violations Graves des Droits Humains Commises par l’Etat Marocain), or ASVDH, is a Sahrawi human rights organization operating in the Moroccan
-occupied
parts of Western Sahara
(by Morocco considered the kingdom's "Southern Provinces
").
ASVDH was founded in El Aaiun
on May 7, 2005, by Sahrawi activists, including its President, Brahim Dahane
, a former prisoner of conscience
. It has been refused permission to operate by the Moroccan authorities, and is thus forced to operate illegally, with very limited means at its disposal. Its activities has consisted in documenting abuses by interviewing alleged victims of persecution, and releasing documentation and photograph
s of illegal demonstrations
, police
interventions and torture
scars on the Internet
.
ASVDH has been outspoken in its defence of jailed Sahrawi human rights defenders and independence
activists, such as Aminatou Haidar
and Ali Salem Tamek
, during the presently ongoing anti-occupation protests that broke out in El Aaiun in May 2005, which ASVDH refers to as Western Sahara's "Independence Intifada
".
This has resulted in harassment and police action against its members. Dahane was detained on October 30, 2005, and later charged with "belonging to an illegal organization", namely ASVDH. This was condemned by Amnesty International
and other international human rights organizations, who campaigned for Dahane's release.http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290072006?open&of=ENG-2MD As part of a general royal pardon, Dahane and other members of ASVDH were set free on April 22, 2006.http://web.amnesty.org/appeals/index/mar-010306-wwa-eng
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Violations of Human Rights Committed by the Moroccan State; 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...
,جمعية الصحراوية لضحايا الانتهاكات الجسيمة لحقوق الإنسان المرتكبة من طرف الدولة المغربية; French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Association Sahraouie des Victimes des Violations Graves des Droits Humains Commises par l’Etat Marocain), or ASVDH, is a Sahrawi human rights organization operating in the Moroccan
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...
-occupied
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
parts of Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
(by Morocco considered the kingdom's "Southern Provinces
Southern Provinces
The Southern Provinces or Moroccan Sahara are the terms used by Morocco for Western Sahara, in reference to the part of Western Sahara that lies to the west of the Moroccan Berm...
").
ASVDH was founded 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...
on May 7, 2005, by Sahrawi activists, including its President, Brahim Dahane
Brahim Dahane
Brahim Dahane is a Sahrawi human rights activist and President of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State, a human rights organization banned by Morocco...
, a former 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...
. It has been refused permission to operate by the Moroccan authorities, and is thus forced to operate illegally, with very limited means at its disposal. Its activities has consisted in documenting abuses by interviewing alleged victims of persecution, and releasing documentation and photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s of illegal demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
, police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
interventions and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
scars on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
ASVDH has been outspoken in its defence of jailed Sahrawi human rights defenders and independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
activists, such as Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Ali Ahmed Haidar , sometimes known as Aminetou,Aminatu or Aminetu, is a Sahrawi human rights defender and political activist. She is a leading activist for the independence of Western Sahara. She is sometimes called the "Sahrawi Gandhi" for her nonviolent protests, including hunger...
and Ali Salem Tamek
Ali Salem Tamek
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...
, during the presently ongoing anti-occupation protests that broke out in El Aaiun in May 2005, which ASVDH refers to as Western Sahara's "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...
".
This has resulted in harassment and police action against its members. Dahane was detained on October 30, 2005, and later charged with "belonging to an illegal organization", namely ASVDH. This was condemned 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...
and other international human rights organizations, who campaigned for Dahane's release.http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE290072006?open&of=ENG-2MD As part of a general royal pardon, Dahane and other members of ASVDH were set free on April 22, 2006.http://web.amnesty.org/appeals/index/mar-010306-wwa-eng
See also
- Human rights in Western SaharaHuman rights in Western SaharaMorocco sees Western Sahara as its Southern Provinces. Morocco considers the Polisario Front as a separatist movement given the Moroccan origins of many of its leaders, and a puppet in the hands of Algeria....
- History of Western SaharaHistory of Western SaharaThe history of Western Sahara can be traced back to the times of Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC. Though few historical records are left from that period, Western Sahara's modern history has its roots linked to some nomadic groups such as the Sanhaja group and the...
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