Houcine Bachir Brahim, a 27-year-old pro-Polisario student and activist, was sentenced, Tuesday, to twelve years in prison by the Marrakech Appeal court. The judges found Brahim guilty of killing Amazigh student Omar Khaleq, also known as Izem, during violent clashes between Sahrawi and Amazigh students at the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech in 2016. According to El Espanol, Houcine Bachir Brahim fled, in January, to the Canary Islands, where he applied for political asylum. Once there,
After the crackdown on the eastern Mediterranean route, irregular migration mafias immediately opted for the Andalusian coast. The deadly route, however, have pushed these mafias to opt for the Canary Islands.
Brazilian customs seized, Tuesday, 1.3 tons of cocaine concealed in a sugar cargo. The ship carrying the cargo was expected to leave the port of Santos, São Paulo, heading to Morocco, wrote the official state news agency of Cuba Prensa Latina. In a communiqué relayed by the same source, the authorities said the cocaine had been concealed in 120 bags of sugar. The same source states that the cargo was bound for the port of Tangier-Med. Prensa Latina also reports that between
«Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita at the latter’s initiative», wrote the Russia Foreign Ministry in a communiqué issued Tuesday, November 26. During this phone call, the two diplomats «discussed the practical factors of the development of multifaceted bilateral ties, including the convocation of the eighth meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental
The US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo announced, Tuesday, in Washington that he will visit Morocco in early December. Pompeo’s announcement was made at a news briefing, during which he described Morocco as «one of the strongest partners of the United States in the region». «I am looking forward to reviewing our countries’ strong economic, security, partnership and discussing future areas of cooperation», Pompeo told reporters. On 22 October in
Rabbi Eliyahu HaCohen lived and died in Casablanca, where he was buried. While few people know about his story, many recall the transfer of his grave, which was located in the ancient medina. Today, this saint lays in the Ben M’sik cemetery, where Jewish pilgrims come visit his grave yearly.
While other pro-Polisario Saharawis attended on November 22 and 23 the 44th European Conference of Support and Solidarity with the Sahrawi People (Eucoco) in Spain, Aminatou Haidar preferred to fly to Germany. Monday in Berlin, the president of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA) met the former UN Secretary General's personal envoy for Western Sahara Horst Köhler. C' était vraiment un grand honneur pour moi, d' être reçu par
Civil society members in Murcia, a city in south-eastern Spain, are planning to hold a sit-in in front of the Moroccan consulate, Wednesday, to show support for Hirak detainees. Members of several Spanish parties, including Podemos and United Left, a Spanish political coalition, will attend the sit-in. Attendees will be calling for the «release of Hirak detainees». In a statement relayed by Spanish media, the sit-in organizers blame the situation in Rif on «Spain for the
Last week, the Dutch parliament passed a non-binding motion that contradicted a new labeling policy imposed by the European Union on goods made in Israeli settlement. The motion referred to products from Western Sahara, stressing that decision against Israel is «discriminatory».
The Polisario leadership announced, Monday, that it is hosting its 15th congress, scheduled from 19 to 23 December, in Tifariti. For the first time in six years, the Front is returning to the area located east of the Moroccan sand wall. Indeed, the «Dakhla camp» in Tindouf was home in the previous years to the 14th and 13th congresses of the Polisario Front. However, the Front’s announcement is seen as challenging move for the United Nations. In resolution 2440, adopted on