Moroccan police rapes teenage Saharawi human rights activist

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Wednesday February 25, 2009 22:52 by Mbarka - ASVDH info at asvdh dot net

Last Sunday Moroccan police in the occupied Western Sahara detained a young Saharawi girl and raped her for standing up against the Moroccan occupation. First they interrogated her, then they molested her and finally the policemen sodomize her with their truncheons. All in the presence of higher ranking officers. They even threatened to kill her if she made her story public.

Teenage Saharawi human rights activist raped by Moroccan police

Walking through the Maatallah district [El Ayoun, Moroccan occupied Western Sahara] I was surprised by six plain clothed policemen in the company of the well-known torturer Mohamed El Hassouni, known as "the Moustache", who forced me into their vehicle. When we arrived near the Allal ben Adellah school they covered my eyes and handcuffed me behind my back. I asked the policemen for the reason of this detention and one of them, known as El Aalaoui, told me that I had broken the law by attending a meeting with human rights activists. This included the last meeting with Michèle Decaster (from the French solidarity organisation AFASPA), in the presence of my friend Nguia El Haoussi.

We waited for a while for some police officers to arrive. Among the officers was the well-known Abd El Aziz, commonly called "Taouhima", who ordered the policemen to strip me naked and hold my hands while Aziz himself started touching my breasts and kissed me on the mouth. I tried to resist but I was not strong enough against the policemen.

Regarding my involvement in the leaflet distribution at schools in El Ayoun, he threatened me and intimidated me in order to have me drop out. He then ordered the other policemen to sodomize me with their batons. I will never forget this tragic and inhumane moment.