human rights defender

Mohamed Lamin Haddi

Actions and Campaigns

© Écrire pour libérer

HRD's year of birth

1980

HRD's Gender

Man

Type of HRD

  • Journalist/Blogger

HRD's thematic area of engagement

  • Civil and political rights
  • Economic, social and cultural rights

HRD's geographical origin

Urban

Current Status

In prison (sentenced)

HRD's bio and work

Mohamed Lamin Haddi is a journalist who advocates for the right to self-determination of the Sahrawi people.

He grew up in the city of El Aaiun, and from an early age felt the injustice of Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara. His activism began as a student, and in his teens he was expelled from school.

Identified with the Sahrawi opposition to Moroccan rule, his card was marked by the authorities, making it difficult for him to find an employment.

Local journalists like Modamed Lamin Haddi run huge risks in bringing the stories of the Sahrawi people to a wider audience. Western Sahara, under Morocco's draconian rule, is known for being a “black hole” for information and journalism.

Detained since

Oct 20, 2010

Charge(s)

  • Other

Sentence

25 years in prison

Latitude: 33.9028394879374

Longitude: -6.344658211677452

Geolocation of detention

Country or area of detention

Region of detention

  • Africa: Northern Africa

Location of detention - City/Town

Tiflet

Location of detention - Facility

Tiflet 2 Prison

Allegations / reports of ill-treatment

Mohammed Lamin Haddi has been subjected to several forms of torture and ill-treatment while in detention. These include physical violence, lack of medical care, prolonged solitary confinement, lack of adequate food, lack of light in his cell and forced feeding. He has engaged in multiple hunger strikes to denounce these violations.

In 2022, a complaint before the Committee against Torture (CAT) was submitted on behalf of Mohammed Lamin Haddi and three other Sahrawi human rights defenders.

Recent case update / evolution

In 2013, Mohammed Lamin Haddi was sentenced at first instance for "violence with intent to kill officials carrying out their duties". He denied the charges, saying that his confessions had been obtained under duress and that the evidence against him had been falsified.

In 2017, the Salé Court of Appeal upheld the sentence.

In 2020, Morocco's Court of Cassation confirmed the sentence on final appeal.

Any other relevant documents

Opinion adopted by the Woring Group on Arbitrary Detention No. 23/2023, A/HRC/WGAD/2023/23 : https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WGAD/2023/23

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