human rights defender
Cheikh Banga
© فرونت لاين ديفنزر
Cheikh Banga
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Urgent support needed
(AI translated) Call for the immediate release of the Sahrawi human rights defender and political prisoner "Cheikh Banga"
Organization affiliation
- Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA)
HRD's year of birth
1989
HRD's Gender
Man
Type of HRD
- NGO member
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
(AI translated) Sheikh Banka is a Sahrawi human rights activist who advocates for human rights principles in his homeland. He was born on January 12, 1989, in the city of Asa. From a very young age, he began to engage in human rights activism to support the rights of the Sahrawi people in determining their own fate. He has held the position of chairman of the Sahrawi Human Rights Monitoring Committee in Asa and Zak, and was also elected as a member of the executive board of the CODESA (Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara). He also joined the Moroccan Human Rights Association's branch in Asa.
Due to his active human rights work, he has been arrested several times. On March 2006, when he was still a minor, he was detained and spent six months in the Enzkan prison in Morocco. In October 2006, he was arrested again and sentenced to six months of imprisonment in the Khlal Eïn prison in occupied Western Sahara. On November 8, 2010, after a military attack on the Akdim Izik camp near the city of El Aaiun in Western Sahara, he was arrested by the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie.
During his periods of imprisonment, he suffered human rights violations, including torture. He appeared before a Moroccan military court in Salé in 2013 and a civil court in the same city in 2017; both trials were deemed lacking the conditions of a fair trial by international organizations such as Front Line, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.
After being sentenced to an unjust 30-year imprisonment, he was transferred between several Moroccan prisons, including Salé 1, Salé 2, Al Arjat 1, Tafillet 2, and the Central Prison of Kenitra. He is currently detained in the Bouzakarn prison, all of which are located outside the territory of Western Sahara.
Due to the degrading treatment he endured during his interrogations and imprisonment, he went on several hunger strikes, one of which lasted for 19 days. He currently suffers from various chronic illnesses, including asthma, poor eyesight, and hemorrhoids. Despite these obstacles and hardships, this Sahrawi political prisoner, Sheikh Banka, continued his education and obtained a master’s degree in political science and international relations in 2022.
Detained since
Nov 8, 2010
Charge(s)
- Creating disturbances
- Espionage
- Subversion
- Threatening national security
Sentence
(AI translated) A 30-year period
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
(AI translated) As a result of the practices that undermined his human dignity during his interrogation and detention, he undertook a series of hunger strikes, one of which lasted 19 days; he currently suffers from several chronic conditions, including asthma, poor eyesight and haemorrhoids
Latitude: 29.161392702991236
Longitude: -9.723698051733818
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Africa: Northern Africa
Location of detention - City/Town
بوزكارن
Location of detention - Facility
السجن المحلي بوزكارن
Recent case update / evolution
(AI translated) He has been deported and transferred between several Moroccan prisons, namely: Salé Prison 1, then Salé Prison 2, then Al-Arjat 1, then Tafilalt 2, then Kenitra Central Prison, and he is currently being held at Bouzkarn Prison; all of these prisons are located outside the Western Sahara region.
Any other relevant documents
(AI translated) https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=23226
https://www.amnesty.org/ar/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2937212016ENGLISH.pdf
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's year of birth
- 1989
- HRD's Gender
- Man
- Type of HRD
- NGO member
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Organization affiliation
- Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA)
- HRD's Picture
- Copyright
- فرونت لاين ديفنزر
- HRD's bio and work
(AI translated) Sheikh Banka is a Sahrawi human rights activist who advocates for human rights principles in his homeland. He was born on January 12, 1989, in the city of Asa. From a very young age, he began to engage in human rights activism to support the rights of the Sahrawi people in determining their own fate. He has held the position of chairman of the Sahrawi Human Rights Monitoring Committee in Asa and Zak, and was also elected as a member of the executive board of the CODESA (Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara). He also joined the Moroccan Human Rights Association's branch in Asa.
Due to his active human rights work, he has been arrested several times. On March 2006, when he was still a minor, he was detained and spent six months in the Enzkan prison in Morocco. In October 2006, he was arrested again and sentenced to six months of imprisonment in the Khlal Eïn prison in occupied Western Sahara. On November 8, 2010, after a military attack on the Akdim Izik camp near the city of El Aaiun in Western Sahara, he was arrested by the Moroccan Royal Gendarmerie.
During his periods of imprisonment, he suffered human rights violations, including torture. He appeared before a Moroccan military court in Salé in 2013 and a civil court in the same city in 2017; both trials were deemed lacking the conditions of a fair trial by international organizations such as Front Line, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.
After being sentenced to an unjust 30-year imprisonment, he was transferred between several Moroccan prisons, including Salé 1, Salé 2, Al Arjat 1, Tafillet 2, and the Central Prison of Kenitra. He is currently detained in the Bouzakarn prison, all of which are located outside the territory of Western Sahara.
Due to the degrading treatment he endured during his interrogations and imprisonment, he went on several hunger strikes, one of which lasted for 19 days. He currently suffers from various chronic illnesses, including asthma, poor eyesight, and hemorrhoids. Despite these obstacles and hardships, this Sahrawi political prisoner, Sheikh Banka, continued his education and obtained a master’s degree in political science and international relations in 2022.
- HRD's geographical origin
- Urban
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Africa: Northern Africa
- Location of detention - City/Town
- بوزكارن
- Location of detention - Facility
- السجن المحلي بوزكارن
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 29.161392702991236
Longitude: -9.723698051733818
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Nov 8, 2010
- Current Status
- In prison (sentenced)
- Charge(s)
- Creating disturbances
- Espionage
- Subversion
- Threatening national security
- Sentence
(AI translated) A 30-year period
- Recent case update / evolution
(AI translated) He has been deported and transferred between several Moroccan prisons, namely: Salé Prison 1, then Salé Prison 2, then Al-Arjat 1, then Tafilalt 2, then Kenitra Central Prison, and he is currently being held at Bouzkarn Prison; all of these prisons are located outside the Western Sahara region.
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
(AI translated) As a result of the practices that undermined his human dignity during his interrogation and detention, he undertook a series of hunger strikes, one of which lasted 19 days; he currently suffers from several chronic conditions, including asthma, poor eyesight and haemorrhoids
- Urgent support needed
(AI translated) Call for the immediate release of the Sahrawi human rights defender and political prisoner "Cheikh Banga"
- Any other relevant documents
(AI translated) https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=23226
https://www.amnesty.org/ar/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MDE2937212016ENGLISH.pdf
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
sorted by
Date added
3 relationships, 3 entities