Ibrahim
Mrikli

Background and Work

Ibrahim Mrikli is a photographer and human rights defender based in El Ayoun, the largest city in Western Sahara. He is a member of the Nushatta Foundation for Media and Human Rights, a locally based organisation established in 2013 that works on media activism and human rights advocacy in the disputed territory. Through his photography, Ibrahim documents human rights violations committed by Moroccan authorities, including arbitrary detentions, the use of force against protesters, and restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

Western Sahara remains a highly contested region. Morocco exercises de facto control over most of the territory, while the Polisario Front and its supporters advocate for self-determination. Human rights defenders and journalists working in the region face sustained surveillance, harassment, and judicial reprisals. Ibrahim's work with the Nushatta Foundation places him at the centre of this environment.

The Arrest

On 15 May 2020, at approximately 11 p.m., Ibrahim was walking to a pharmacy in El Ayoun when he was stopped and arrested by several Moroccan police officers in plain clothes. He was taken to the Security Station in El Ayoun and placed in solitary confinement overnight. He remained in isolation until 9 a.m. the following morning.

Ibrahim was then subjected to an interrogation lasting two and a half hours. During the session, officers physically and verbally abused him. He was explicitly told that his lawyer would not be permitted to attend. His mobile phone was confiscated and searched by the interrogating officers. Ibrahim refutes claims that he made any confessions during this process.

Charges and Release on Bail

On 17 May 2020, Ibrahim was formally charged with insulting public servants, stone throwing, and violating quarantine regulations. The charges were based on alleged confessions purportedly given during the interrogation two days earlier. Ibrahim denies making any such confessions. He was released the same day on bail of 3,000 dirham, approximately 300 euros.

The case remained unscheduled for more than a year. On 8 October 2021, a hearing was set for 6 December 2021. In December 2020 rights groups including Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders urged Morocco to drop the charges. No outcome of the 6 December 2021 hearing has been reported.

Pattern of Reprisals

This was not the first time Ibrahim has been detained on similar charges. In January 2019, he was held for two months. In July 2019, he was sentenced to four months' imprisonment. In both instances, he was charged with insulting public servants and stone throwing. The repeated use of these charges against him suggests a pattern of judicial harassment linked to his work documenting violations in Western Sahara.

Legal Context

The charges of insulting public servants and stone throwing are frequently deployed against activists, journalists, and human rights defenders in Western Sahara. They carry the appearance of ordinary criminal offences while functioning in practice as instruments of political control. The denial of legal counsel during interrogation and the reliance on disputed confessions compound violations of due process in Ibrahim's case.

His arrest during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the inclusion of a quarantine violation charge, further illustrate how emergency health measures have been instrumentalised to restrict the movement and work of defenders in the region.