UN condemns Morocco for obtaining confession under torture

The UN Committee Against Torture has condemned Morocco for retrieving a confession under torture.

Naama Asfari, who is currently serving 30 years in prison, was arrested in 2010 with 22 other activists for organising a Saharawi protest camp for the independence of Western Sahara.

After the camp was forcefully evacuated, clashes broke out between the army and demonstrators in which nine Moroccan soldiers died according to Moroccan authorities.

In February 2013, a military tribunal sentenced Asfari to 30 years in prison for “association with criminals, outrage, violence towards public officials and voluntary homicides”.

Asfari says he was tortured and starved in prison. His lawyer filed a complaint against Moroccan authorities before the High Court of Paris and the UN Committee Against Torture.

A further nine people were sentenced by a fundamentally flawed trial based on confessions “obtained under torture”, according to Amnesty International.