Mohamed Elmoutaoikil
| Mohamed Cheikh Elmoutaoikil الشيخ محمد المتوكل |
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|---|---|
| Born | October 10, 1966 Assa, Morocco |
| Residence | Casablanca, Morocco |
| Ethnicity | Sahrawi |
| Citizenship | Moroccan |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Known for | Human rights defender |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
| Spouse | Aminatou Bainaho |
| Children | three |
Mohamed Cheikh Elmoutaoikil (Arabic: الشيخ محمد المتوكل; b. October 10, 1966 in Assa, Morocco) (also transliterated as Mohammad al-Mutawakil) is a Moroccan Sahrawi human rights defender active in Western Sahara and Morocco. He is the father of three children. He holds a degree in Geology.[citation needed] He is a member of the Collective Of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA).[1]
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[edit] Background
He was jailed after he was arrested during the 2005 "Independence Intifada". He was previously jailed in 1992 for one year, and has been arrested several times since then. He worked as a civil servant in Casablanca (he was the secretary general of the municipality of Ben Msik, in Casablanca, in 2001). Previously, he had been secretary general of Assa's municipality, before being forced by Moroccan authorities to fled from Assa to Casablanca.[2]
In 1992, he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, for participating in the September 24 peaceful political demonstration to demand self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, in his hometown of Assa. He passed his sentence at Inzegane prison.[2]
He had been a member of the Sahrawi branch of the human rights organization Forum for Truth and Justice until its illegalization and dissolution by the Moroccan authorities. He is currently a member of the Casablanca-based Forum for Truth and Justice section, that remains a legally registered association.[3]
On December 14, 2005, Elmoutaoikil was sentenced to 10 months in prison by a Moroccan court in El-Aaiun, in a mass trial with 13 other Sahrawi activists. He had been arrested in his house in Casablanca, on July 20, with the human rights activist Mohamed Fadel Gaoudi, and taken to a police station. They were questioned about the ongoing events in Western Sahara, and then transferred to another police station in El Aaiún. Just before the trial, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued reports [4] that expressed concerns that he was not getting fair trials, and may be a prisoner of conscience. After the trial, Amnesty reiterated strong criticisms, and said that it was strengthened in its claim that Elmoutaoikil and the others are probable prisoners of conscience. Later, they were all released after a royal pardon.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Members of the CODESA secretariat
- ^ a b "Fiche biographique de l'activiste sahraoui et ex-déporté Mohamed Elmoutaoikil". ARSO. 2005-07-23. http://www.arso.org/intifadabioelmout.htm#e. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ "Sahrawi human rights defenders under attack". Amnesty International USA. 2005-08-29. http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGMDE290082005. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
- ^ Amnesty International report: Sahrawi human rights defenders under attack. 24-11-2005.
