Reuters,
27 Dec 2007

Government officials were not immediately available for comment on the U.S.-based group's accusation about the detention of the two activists, known as sympathizers of the independence movement Polisario Front in Western Sahara.

Morocco, which annexed the northwest African territory of 260,000 people after Spain's troops pulled out in 1975, has offered it autonomy but the Polisario Front movement is calling for a referendum with full independence as one option.

Human Rights Watch said police detained Dahha Rahmouni and Brahim Alansari, from two nongovernmental human rights organizations in El-Ayoun, on December 14 and beat them while in custody before releasing them without charge two days later.

El-Ayoun is the main town in the disputed Western Sahara.

The Moroccan government has repeatedly denied accusations by rights groups of mistreating independence activists.

But Human Rights Watch said: "The Moroccan authorities tightly restrict independent human rights activities in the contested Western Sahara region on the pretext that several rights organizations there violate Moroccan law by espousing independence for Western Sahara."

"Human Rights Watch expressed concern that the action is part of a broader attack on human rights monitoring by the authorities in the Western Sahara region," it said.

Two rounds of talks to resolve the dispute over the territory were held near New York in June and August, but a recent report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said each side had stuck to "rigid positions."

The two sides are due to meet for another round of talks early in January.

(Reporting by Lamine Ghanmi; Editing by Alison Williams)


Photo of Brahim Elansari above taken by Thomas Frantsvold.