Brahim Dahane
| Brahim Dahane إبراهيم دحان |
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|---|---|
| Born | 1965 El Aaiun, Spanish Sahara |
| Residence | El Aaiún, Western Sahara |
| Ethnicity | Sahrawi |
| Known for | Human rights defender |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Awards | Per Anger Award |
Brahim Dahane (Arabic: إبراهيم دحان; born 1965) is a Sahrawi human rights activist and President of the Sahrawi Association of Victims of Grave Human Rights Violations Committed by the Moroccan State, a human rights organization banned by Morocco. Born in 1965, he lives in El Aaiun, in the part of Western Sahara controlled by Morocco, where he is the manager of an Internet café.[1]
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[edit] Biography
At the age of 22, in 1987 he participated in the demonstrations to welcome the United Nations' MINURSO mission to El Aaiun. After the demonstrations, he was abducted by Moroccan security forces and held in secret detention centres for four years, when he was released along with approximately 300 other Sahrawi "disappeared". According to Amnesty International,
| “ | He was arrested in 1987 and was held without charge or trial in secret detention centres until being released in 1991. The Moroccan authorities have never provided a formal reason for his arrest and "disappearance", but it is believed that he was targeted for peacefully demanding the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination. | ” |
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—"Sahrawi human rights defenders under attack". Amnesty International USA. 29-08-2005.[1] |
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In 1994, Dahane and three collaborators travelled to Rabat with the aim of investigate the possibility of launching a case against the Moroccan state for breach of human rights. This initiative is considered to have been the first step towards organising and coordinating human rights activists in Western Sahara.[2]
On 7 May 2005, he founded the ASVDH, and became its first president. After protesting police brutality during the presently ongoing anti-occupation protests that broke out in El Aaiun in May 2005, Dahane was detained on October 30, 2005, by Moroccan security personnel. For two days, he was questioned on his relations with international human rights associations and foreign diplomats. He was later charged with "belonging to an illegal organization", namely ASVDH. This was condemned by Amnesty International,[1] Human Rights Watch[3] and other international human rights organizations, who campaigned for Dahane's release.[1] As part of a general royal pardon, Dahane and other members of ASVDH were set free on April 22, 2006.[2]
On 8 October 2009, he was arrested with other six Sahrawi human rights activists (known as "The Casablanca 7") in the Casablanca Airport, when they returned from visiting family members at the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. The Moroccan authorities accused them of "harming state security", and transferred the case to a military court. Dahane was incarcerated in Salé while awaiting trial.[4]
Dahane, Ali Salem Tamek, and Ahmed Nasiri were freed on 23 April 2011, just before they were set to begin a hunger strike to protest the conditions of their imprisonment.[5]
[edit] Awards and Nominations
Brahim Dahane, won the Per Anger Award for human rights in 2009. He was nominated to the prize by the International Commission of Jurists. He was awarded in recognition of "unwavering personal courage, employing of peaceful means". Swedish Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth presented the award and the prize money of 150,000 SEK (14,500 euro) and a sphere in silver, which weighs as much as a human heart, at a ceremony in Stockholm on 16 November. Brahim Dahane is currently in Moroccan prison, so it is unclear whether he will be released to receive the award in person.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Sahrawi human rights defenders under attack". Amnesty International USA. 29-08-2005
- ^ a b "Per Anger Prize. Prize 2009". 18-11-2009. http://www.levandehistoria.se/english/peranger/2009. Retrieved 27-08-2010.
- ^ Letter to King Mohammed VI on the Trial of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in the Western Sahara. Sarah Leah Whitson. Human Rights Watch Executive Director, Middle East and North Africa Division. December 9, 2005.
- ^ "Morocco: Release or try Sahrawi activists held 10 months.". Human Rights Watch. 02-08-2010. http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/08/02/morocco-release-or-try-sahrawi-activists-held-10-months. Retrieved 27-08-2010.
- ^ "Morocco court frees Sahara activists after two years". Agence France-Presse. 14 April 2011. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jgpTNsJ8R-HVeC2aOFuadaGBbKyg?docId=CNG.ca9c5f5db26ce94dd8519e902b92fae7.7d1. Retrieved 27-08-2010.
[edit] External links
- ASVDH (Arabic)(English)(Spanish)(French) - Official website
