The Life of Mustapha Eddarja: A Wrongfully Imprisoned Man Fighting for the Independence of Western Sahara

Mustapha Eddarja, a father of six and a strong believer in West Saharan independence, was arrested in a coffeehouse in central Marrakech late at night on January 10, 2017. He was brought to a secret location in Salé City and kept there for days, without being notified of the grounds for his arrest. During his time in Salé City, Eddarja was subjected to systematic physical torture with the purpose of forcing him to sign the police records which contained wrongful claims about his arrest. For a number of days, Eddarja refused to sign, but he had to give in after several days of electrical shocks, forced sleep deprivation and continuous beatings. After the torture, Eddarja was brought to Tangier Hospital to recover and the interrogation was therefore postponed. Instead of being brought back to Marrakech, Eddarja was kept in a prison in Tangier for months, unable to be visited by his family.

The arrest warrant for Mustapha Eddarja was based on him allegedly being part of a drug smuggling operation. Eddarja has denied any connection to the drug trafficking group and his relatives support this claim. In court, Eddarja’s family complained about the lack of evidence of his connection to the crime. However, this was ignored by the judge. Evidently, Eddarja has been subject to a fabrication of accusations.

Eddarja’s family and the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA) interpret the arrest of Mustapha Eddarja as a retaliation to his support for the Gdeim Izik camp events in 2010. The Gdeim Izik protest started off peacefully but later developed into a violent confrontation when Moroccan security forces entered the camp. The camp was originally erected to protest human rights violations, discrimination and poverty inflicted by the Moroccan government on West Saharians. However, later, a part of the protesting group also claimed to be protesting against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and demanded independence for the occupied territories. After the Gdeim Izik protests, Eddarja was subjected to continuous harassment by government agencies, both through physical encounters and through the constant surveillance of his movements. In addition, Eddarja’s name started to pop up in similar judicial cases to the one he was later accused and convicted of. Having his name reoccur in similar investigations provided the Moroccan Judiciary with sufficient reason to see his actions as premeditated, thereby making him eligible for a harsher punishment. This suggests that the Moroccan Judicial Police had made preparations for his arrest for several years before following through on his arrest. 

Eddarja was known for his support of the non-violent fight for the freedom of Western Sahara. He supported peaceful activists and protests financially as well as through moral and health support. He was deeply appreciated by his community and was regarded as a figure of high morale. According to CODESA, The Moroccan government has committed similar operations to stop supporters of this cause on numerous occasions.  

However, these discriminatory conditions prevailed when the persecuted individual received their sentence. After being sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison, Eddarija was transferred numerous times between different prison facilities in northern Morocco but has now been transferred to what is seemingly his last location – the Oudaya prison in Marrakech. During their short visits, family members have learned that Eddarja is kept in a solitary cell and has been for the last two years. In Oudaya prison, Eddarja is held in the high-security wing, which is the most well-guarded one. According to his family, he suffers from the inhumane prison conditions. He is often handcuffed for no apparent reason; he is deprived of walks and outside activities and has been prohibited from seeing his family on several occasions, who have traveled 900 kilometers to visit him. A family member who was able to meet him said that he had gastro-intestinal pains, diseases connected to malnutrition and was in a poor mental state. The inhumane conditions have contributed to Eddarja’s health worsening, pushing him towards more radical means. Eddarja did, for weeks, go on a hunger strike in prison; however, this was met with indifference from the prison staff, and his health worsened even more. 

In 2021, Eddarja’s wife, child, and Eddaich Eddaf, a former political prisoner who has become a human rights defender for CODESA, and his partner attempted to visit Eddarja in jail. The group provided all the required documents to visit him, but only his daughter was allowed. She met him and could testify that his health had worsened even more. Unfortunately, the others were not allowed entry and made the 900-kilometer-long journey in vain.

None of these circumstances align with international humanitarian law – they oppose the most basic human rights. Suppose one were to observe the framework of the 70/175. United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), one can distinguish that the treatment of Mustapha Eddarja does not comply with its requirements. Neither does it comply with the vital conditions proposed in the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which the Kingdom of Morocco ratified in 1993. The 2nd and 11th Articles of this convention specify that torture should be non-existent in the countries that have ratified it, suggesting that the Kingdom of Morocco does not fulfil these obligations. Article 15 states that any statements made during torture shall not be invoked as evidence. This is, however, evidently not complied with in the case of Mustapha Eddarja and is thereby not fulfilled. 

Eddarja’s family demands that his human rights should be respected and thus also states that Eddarja deserves a new trial based upon a new independent and impartial investigation. They urge international actors to intervene to bring justice to Mustapha Eddarja and force the Moroccan government to stop using fabricated accusations.

Mustafa Eddarja’s family is looking forward to his release in a couple of years but still hopes that the visibility from sharing their story might give them the opportunity to meet him sooner.