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Time for US to Press Morocco on Human Rights Backsliding

Recent actions taken by the Moroccan government against the press and Western Saharan rights activists suggest backsliding on core human rights such as freedom of speech, press, association and movement. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was recently in Morocco but generally praised Morocco’s human rights record despite this disturbing trend. Call on the US government to press Morocco to quickly address these recent abuses.

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Hillary Rodham Clinton (Democrat)

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Dear (recipient name),

During your recent trip to Marrakech, I was very disappointed to see that the US government failed to address Morocco’s recent backsliding on human rights. In both Morocco proper and in the Western Sahara, new restrictions and sanctions upon press freedom, freedom of association and freedom of movement point towards a disturbing trend in Moroccan government’s attitude towards basic human rights.

Shortly before you arrived in Morocco, authorities there had arrested seven well-known Western Saharan rights activists as they were returning from Algeria to Morocco’s Casablanca airport. These 7 activists - Ahmed Alansari, Brahim Dahane, Yahdih Ettarouzi, Saleh Labihi, Dakja Lashgar, Rachid Sghir and Ali Salem Tamek - face trumped-up charges as they await trial. Amnesty believes that they are being persecuted because of their political opinions in favor of Western Saharan self-determination. They are prisoners of conscience and Amnesty has called for their unconditional release.

As Morocco is a major non-NATO ally who benefits from a unique bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the United States, it is incumbent upon the US government to raise these issues with your Moroccan counterpart. Please demand the release of the seven Western Saharan rights defenders held in Salé. Remind him that Morocco is at grave risk of squandering the progress it has made in recent years to address past and ongoing human rights abuses.

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