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Methodology
Human Rights Watch conducted research missions to El-Ayoun in Western Sahara in
December 2005, November 2007, and March 2008. The 2007 trip also included a
visit to the city of Smara. Human Rights Watch met with Moroccan officials, who also
furnished answers in writing to questions we submitted. Their responses are quoted
throughout this report and reproduced in large part as an appendix.
In El-Ayoun and Smara, Human Rights Watch interviewed tens of victims of human
rights abuses, most of them referred to us by local human rights organizations. We
also interviewed human rights activists and lawyers, civilians and policemen who
were injured by protestors, and representatives of civil society, both Sahrawis and
non-Sahrawis
In Human Rights Watch’s three visits to Western Sahara during the past three years,
Moroccan authorities placed no direct obstacles in the way of our work, our meetings
or our movements.
There were, however, indirect pressures on our work. Our researchers observed men
sitting in unmarked vehicles or motorcycles near the locations in El-Ayoun and
Smara where we met with Sahrawi activists and alleged victims of abuse. These men,
whom the activists credibly described as police agents, remained at a distance from
our researchers; however, they created an intimidating atmosphere for ordinary
citizens who sought to meet us. In addition, the commonplace harassment of
Sahrawis who provide information about Moroccan abuses to visiting human rights
delegations, as documented in this report, creates disincentives for them to do so.
While we found many Sahrawis eager to testify about abuses they had allegedly
suffered, we also encountered or heard about others who declined to provide us
information, explaining that they feared reprisal by the authorities.
We did not formally request a visit to El-Ayoun civil prison; the treatment of prisoners
there or elsewhere fell outside the scope of our planned work.
Human Rights in Western Sahara and Tindouf 18