(AI Translated) Mohammed Al-Bashir Botankiza, born on 25 December 1975 in Laayoune, Western Sahara, was arrested on 19 November 2010 in occupied Laayoune because of his human rights activism and his participation in organizing the Akdim Ezik camp, which was set up outside the urban perimeter, where he advocated for Sahrawis’ economic, social and cultural rights.

During his detention, the Sahrawi human‑rights defender was subjected to multiple forms of torture. He was kept blindfolded and handcuffed throughout the entire period of detention at the Royal Gendarmerie headquarters on the outskirts of Laayoune. He was subjected to physical and psychological torture, including rape by the insertion of objects into his rectum by members of the Moroccan occupation forces, which caused continuous bleeding. He was also subjected to electric shocks, especially to his hands, feet and nails, and received threats to harm his family, including a threat to bring his wife and rape her in his presence.

The victim underwent two trials, the first on 13 February 2013 before the military court in Salé, and the second on 17 July 2017 before the Court of Appeal in Salé, where a life‑sentence was pronounced against him. Although he requested a medical examination, the defense team’s request was rejected three times before the military investigating judge, the military court and the Court of Appeal in Salé.

The victim was transferred among several prisons, including Laayoune prisons 1 and 2, the Arjat prison 1, and the central prison in Kenitra, Morocco. He undertook a series of open and warning hunger strikes to demand his fundamental rights as set out in international standards on the treatment of prisoners, in an effort to pressure authorities to respect his human rights.