Saarauí, who was fleeing persecution in Morocco, is detained at Guarulhos airport

Since January 27th, Mohamed Bouchana, a native of Laayoune, in the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), has been detained at the migration station at Guarulhos airport, in São Paulo, at the request of the Moroccan monarchy, which triggered the international “red alert” for his capture.

Mohamed and his wife Ibtissam Wiklandour had their passports seized by the Federal Police after leaving Mauritania towards Brazil with the intention of applying for “political refugee” status.

According to the Guillén Guillén International Law Firm, which represents them, “the strong persecution and constant threats by the Moroccan authorities” are recognized. Furthermore, “they are not safe in Mauritania, a territory bordering the occupied area of ​​Western Sahara and easily accessible to the Moroccan government”.

Doctor and former federal deputy Maria José Maninha, from the Association for Solidarity and Self-Determination of the Saharawi People of the Federal District, said that “as a prisoner and tortured during the military dictatorship, I fully understand what happens to people persecuted in their countries, subjected to threats and misleading narratives”. Therefore, “they seek freedom in political asylum in other lands”. “This feeling generates solidarity in us, which is what our association and we are all providing to Mohamed at the moment”, assured Maninha.

Reinforced companionship

His Moroccan wife supports him, but her family did not accept his marriage because he is Sahrawi. “Ibtissam is being blackmailed by her family,” reported Mohamed, appreciating his partner’s determination.

As evidenced by the boarding passes and the request for recognition of the status of political refugees before the National Committee for Refugees (Conare), the couple has Brazil as their final destination. However, “due to a red alert, according to allegations made by the police authority, to date, both applicants have been detained at the migration police station”.

The Moroccan request is completely invalid, the lawyers point out, since “the United Nations and the African Court have already expressed their support for the right to self-determination and recognition of the autonomous territory of the Western Sahrawi Arab Republic, an area illegally occupied by the Moroccan authorities.”

Moroccan monarchy attacks dignity

“Although the UN does not recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the occupied territories, and the African Court has spoken out for the right to referendum and self-determination of the Sahrawi people”, denounces Guillén Guillén, the Moroccan monarchy “systematically insists on the practice of acts that undermine the Dignity of the Human Person, violation of fundamental and democratic rights”.

Furthermore, the lawyers clarify, “in order to annihilate popular sovereignty, the State of Morocco perpetuates the persecution, threat and physical and psychological violence against people who are in occupied territory and who defend their fundamental rights”.

Illegal and abusive actions are recurrent, defenders add. A recent ruling handed down by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, dated September 22, 2022, denounced the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara as a violation of the Sahrawi right to independence.

In the asylum request, given the risks that Mohamed Bouchana is exposed to, the lawyers point out that “he has been a collaborator of the political organization Coordination Kdim Izik, founded with the aim of promoting the defense of the right to self-determination and the demand for sovereignty of the Sahrawi people”. “Mohamed participated in demonstrations for the pro-Sahrawi cause, as can be seen in the photographic evidence attached. He suffered, in 2010 and while still a minor, reprisals and illegal imprisonment for exercising his freedom to demonstrate against Morocco’s occupation of Sahrawi territory”, they emphasize.

Violation of the Declaration of Human Rights

It remains clear that the Moroccan State violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the defense emphasizes the need to comply with the Statute of the International Criminal Police Organization – Interpol, which has among its purposes respect for the laws of different countries, objectively transgressed by the truculent way in which the absolutist monarchy has behaved.

Furthermore, says professor Monica Fonseca Severo, from the Saharawi People’s Solidarity Committee, which is following the case, the Interpol Statute also prohibits intervention in issues or matters of a political, military, religious or racial nature. “The accusations made against Mohamed Bouchana are obviously false, a setup that only reveals the degree of degeneration of the Moroccan regime, which we were able to see in full when we recently visited the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria,” he said.

Victim of extortion, blackmail and beating

As for Mohamed, Monica recalls that his first arrest occurred 16 years ago, in 2010, in Kadim Azik, when he was still a minor. “After that, in Morocco, police officers went to his house several times where he suffered extortion, blackmail and beatings. Even though he lives in Mauritania, a neighboring territory, it is natural that he is very afraid.”

The Media and Human Rights Activists Foundation of Canada also joined the campaign for Mohamed’s immediate release, as “he is a peaceful activist and defender of the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and independence, as provided for in international treaties, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”. The entity clarified that “Mohamed exercised his activism in a public and non-violent way, through participation in peaceful demonstrations and the expression of opinion through civil means, including symbolic writing on walls”. “At no time did he use any form of violence. As a result of these activities, he was the target of attacks, intimidation and persecution, the first case being recorded during the events of Gdeim Izik, when several Sahrawi activists were repressed for their political positions”, he assured.

“I fled due to political pressures that prevent me from exercising my right as a Sahrawi in the occupied territories,” explained Mohamed.

Therefore, for the reasons explained, the lawyers add, “and considering the serious suspicion of false accusations that cover up the current political persecution involving Mr. Mohamed Bouchanna, we formally request access to any information or documents related to the aforementioned ‘red alert’, which is why the applicant is currently being detained.”

Monica Severo reiterates that “the couple is registered in the Conari system, as applicants for refugee status and that their request is still under analysis”. “The PF must provide a provisional national migration registration document that will allow them to be legally in the country. With this document they will be able to leave the airport”, he concluded.