The judiciary of the Moroccan occupation forces issues illegal sentences against the Sahrawi students and former prisoners, Salah Brahim Al-Sabbār and Brahim Babit

Committee for the Protection of Sahrawi Civilians of the Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders’ Collective in Western Sahara (CODESA)

Occupied El Ayun,  December 17, 2025

The Committee for the Protection of Civilians of the Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders’ Collective in Western Sahara (CODESA) has followed with deep concern the unfair and unjust verdict issued on December 17, 2025, by the Primary Court in the city of Agadir, Morocco, against the Sahrawi students and former political prisoners Salah Brahim Al-Sabbār and Brahim Babit. The court sentenced them to eight months of imprisonment, a fine of 500 Moroccan Dirhams, and to pay compensation in what the court referred to as “civil claims” amounting to 1,500 Moroccan Dirhams.

The police of the Moroccan occupation forces arrested the two students on December 5, 2025, in the city of Agadir, Morocco, before the Public Prosecutor at the Primary Court referred them to Ait Melloul Local Prison 2, Morocco.

This arrest was linked to a complaint filed by one of the employees of the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences at Ibn Zohr University in the aforementioned city. The complaint is likely to have been fabricated and retaliatory in nature, intended to return the two Sahrawi students, Salah Brahim Al-Sabbār and Brahim Babit, to prison once again after they had previously spent 45 days in political detention due to their peaceful student activism within the university.

The Committee affirms that this unjust ruling comes within the context of an ongoing pattern of repression, as less than two months have passed since the arrest of the same two students and their sentencing to 45 days of effective imprisonment, as part of a systematic targeting of Sahrawi students and an attempt to intimidate them and deter them from exercising their legitimate rights.

According to statements from the families of the two aforementioned Sahrawi students and former prisoners, they are subjected to ill-treatment and deprived of their full fundamental rights as guaranteed under relevant international covenants and treaties, in particular the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

As the Committee for the Protection of Civilians of the Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders’ Collective in Western Sahara (CODESA) declares its unconditional solidarity with the Sahrawi students and political prisoners Salah Al-Sabbār and Brahim Babit, as well as with their families, it:

 1.     Affirms that the arrest and retaliatory prosecution of the two students take place within the framework of a systematic repressive policy targeting Sahrawi students and activists, and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

2.     Condemns the violations to which the two political prisoners are subjected inside Ait Melloul Prison 2, Morocco.

3.     Holds the Moroccan occupation forces fully responsible for their physical and psychological safety.

4.     Calls for an end to all forms of harassment and for the full guarantee of their fundamental rights, while firmly demanding the unconditional release of all Sahrawi political prisoners, without restrictions or conditions.