Tomorrow morning, 21 Saharawi political prisoners will commence a 48 hour hunger strike as a message to the Moroccan authorities. From what Western Sahara Resource Watch understands, the group demands to be released or to have their case immediately appealed. They also demand to be promptly transfered to the prison in El Aaiun in occupied Western Sahara, closer to where their families live.

If their demands are not met, they will start an unlimited hunger strike early March, the group told WSRW.

Only days after their sentence in February 2013, the group filed a request to appeal with the Court of Appeal. They've still not received a reply to that request. The military court sentenced the Saharawi activists to absurdly severe punishments for their alleged participation in the Gdeim Izik camp. Read about the Gdeim Izik group here.

«It is difficult to describe the feeling of frustration with regard to the situation that we are in – and our frustration over the EU's approach to the conflict and our resources», Sidahmed Lemjiyed wrote to WSRW. Lemjiyed is the secretary-general of CSPRON, an association working for the protection of natural resources in Western Sahara. He has been an outspoken opponent of the illegal EU partnerships with Morocco covering the occupied territory, located outside of the internationally recognised borders of Morocco.

«We were sentenced to lifetime prison sentences by a military court for claiming our socio-economic rights and condemning the plunder. And now we are to sit here for the rest of our lives being denied the possibility to appeal? The EU, on the other hand, is found to breach European law through its agreement with Morocco covering the land that I am from, but they can appeal easily. The injustice that EU leaders can appeal a legitimate verdict, while we don't even receive an answer to our request to appeal an illegimate sentence, is keeping me awake at night» Lemjiyed wrote to Western Sahara Resource Watch.

In 2013 a Moroccan military court sentenced Lemjiyed to lifelong incarceration for his participation in the 2010 protest. During the court's session, Lemjiyed spoke about the UN Legal Opinion of 2002, concluding that the wishes and interests of the Saharawi people are legal requirements for the lawful exploitation or exploration of Western Sahara's resources. The Opinion is systematically misrepresenting by both the EU and Morocco, much to the dismay of the former UN Legal Counsel who authored the text.

The trial was a farce. None of the people sentenced were identified by witnesses.