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At trial, the defendants again proclaimed their innocence and repudiated their
“confessions” to the police. 78 As-Sah testified again that the police had tortured his
statement out of him. 79 He and al-Boussati claimed that the police had pinned this
case on them in retaliation for their peaceful, pro-independence views and
activities. 80 As they filed in and out of the court, they flashed the ‘V’ sign with their
fingers (for “victory”) and chanted slogans in favor of Sahrawi self-determination,
according to observers Herzig and Italian magistrate Nicola Quatrano. 81
At the February 6 hearing, presiding judge Baha Khalifa called four witnesses: two of
the policemen who were in the vehicle that was struck and two young boys who, in
their police statements, said they had been playing in a nearby game room when
they heard a commotion, looked up, and saw as-Sah fleeing the scene. 82
The policemen testified that they did not recognize the persons who had thrown
Molotov cocktails at their vehicle. 83 The two youth witnesses then testified in turn
that they had not been near the scene when the crime occurred. 84 One said that the
police “statement” contains things he had not told the police, whereas the other
said his statement reflects what he had told them, but that he had said things that
were untrue because the police had used force on him, according to trial observer
Herzig. The judge then questioned the father of the second boy, who stated that the
police had held his son at a police station for questioning for an entire day while
ordering the father to remain outside, Herzig reported. 85
The case file contained medical reports of the policemen’s injuries and an estimate
of the value of the damages caused to their vehicle. 86 It also contains a report that
78 Ibid.
79 Ibid., pp. 4-5.
80 Patrick Herzig, “Mission d’Observation Judiciaire du 3 au 8 février 2008.”
81 Osservatorio Internazionale, “Rapport de mission dans les territoires occupés du Sahara occidentale et au Maroc, Laayoune,
Smara, Casablanca, Rabat 5-15 janvier 2008,”
http://nuke.ossin.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=rJLIlbA1Vsg%3d&tabid=766&mid=1630 (accessed October 17, 2008). This is
a French translation of the original Italian, http://nuke.ossin.org/SearchResults/RapportoOssin/tabid/761/Default.aspx
(accessed September 11, 2008). Italian judge Nicola Quatrano is the author of this trial observation report.
82 Court of Appeals of El-Ayoun, judgment 2008/21, p.2.
83 Ibid., p.5.
84 Ibid.
85 Patrick Herzig, “Mission d’Observation Judiciaire du 3 au 8 février 2008.”
86 Ibid.
45 Human Rights Watch December 2008