Sid'Ahmed Lemsiyed, president of CSPRON (Committee for the protection of the natural resources of Western Sahara) was arrested on 25 December 2010, the year when the mass peaceful protest camp had been held in Gdeim Izik from early October until it was dismantled by Moroccan authorities on 8 November. He has been imprisoned with others arrested at that time, known now as the Gdeim Izik group of prisoners in Salé prison, near Rabat in Morocco. They are facing trial in a military court on 24 October.
Sign petition for justice for Sidahmed and his fellow detainees here.
The petition asks the Moroccan Minister for Justice to release the 22 Gdeim Izik human rights defenders in the absence of a fair and transparent trial.
To be sure, the plunder of the natural resources of Western Sahara was one of the themes in the protest in 2010, in which Saharawis complained of having become second-class citizens in their own country, while its natural riches were being shipped out to the benefit of the occupying power, Morocco. But we do not know why such a protest is regarded by the Moroccans as a crime worthy of a military court.
Indeed the military trial is unjust because all the accused are civilians. Secondly, it is not being held in Western Sahara and thirdly because of the delay in bringing their cases to court. Detaining anyone longer than a year without charge and without trial is illegal under Moroccan law.
Record low number of importers of Western Sahara phosphates
Only three companies imported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara in 2025 - the lowest number ever recorded. The findings appear in our annual P for Plunder report, released today.
The conflict phosphates - four decades of plunder
For over 40 years, a Moroccan state-owned company has exported phosphate rock from occupied Western Sahara.
One of the richest coastlines in the world
The fish stocks of occupied Western Sahara have not only attracted the interest of the Moroccan fleet: other foreign interests are also fishing in the occupied waters through arrangements with Moroccan counterparts. Along the Western Saharan coastline, a processing industry has emerged.
The CJEU Court Cases
Keeping track of the many legal proceedings relating to Western Sahara is not easy. This page offers an overview of the cases concerning the territory that have been before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).