36SHADOW OF IMPUNITYTORTURE IN MOROCCO AND WESTERN SAHARAAccording to his aunt, gendarmes accused the activist of having stolen silver from the mineand hidden it in the company car he used, but failed to produce the silver during the hurriedtrial. Moustapha Ouchtoubane refuted the police accusations in court. On 1 December 2011,he was convicted of silver theft and sentenced to four years in prison. 49Gendarmes who arrested silver mine activists Omar Moujane, 25, Ibrahim Hamdaoui, 24,and Abdessamad Madri, 22, on 1 March 2014 did not even question them, their familiestold Amnesty International. They too said that gendarmes sprayed engine starter fluid in theyoung men’s faces, making them lose consciousness. 50 Omar Moujane told AmnestyInternational he had no recollection of signing any interrogation reports or of puttingfingerprints on them. He added:“Gendarmes hit me on the head with a big flashlight while they detained me in Tinghir. Theyalso sprayed me in the face, and kicked me. I fainted and woke up with a broken tooth.”The three men refuted the “confessions” contained in interrogation reports and denied thecharges, but were nevertheless convicted in two parallel prosecutions largely on the basis ofthe “confessions”, as well as earlier, similarly contested “confessions” during interrogation in2011.The first prosecution was a misdemeanours case relating to events in 2011 when the Imidersilver mine protests began. All three were convicted on 24 March 2014 of taking part in“organizing unauthorized demonstrations”, “obstructing the right to work”, “damaging publicproperty” and “rebellion”, while Abdessamad Madri was also convicted of “armed assault”for allegedly throwing stones. The Court of First Instance in Ouarzazate sentenced OmarMoujane and Ibrahim Hamdaoui to six months’ imprisonment and a 1,000 dirham fine(approximately US$100), and Abdessamad Madri to one year’s imprisonment and a 3,000dirham fine (approximately US$300). The prison sentences were increased by six months onappeal.The second prosecution was a felonies case including charges of “resisting arrest”, “armedassault” for allegedly throwing stones at other youths, assault of a villager, theft of silver andprotesting against the silver mine. All three were convicted on 24 April 2014 of theft,forming a criminal gang, obstructing traffic on a public road, damaging industrial equipment,insulting and using violence against a public officer, in addition to assault and battery. Theywere sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and ordered to pay 60,000 dirhams49Interview, Imider, 3 July 2014; Criminal Chamber, Ouarzazate Court of Appeals, Decision 11/206,File 11/203, 1 December 2011.50People previously detained told Amnesty International that gendarmes often used engine starter fluidto induce loss of consciousness. According to the manufacturer of the brand reportedly used, the effectson human health are the following: “Inhalation: Acts as a narcotic or general anaesthetic. May causeirritation of the respiratory tract with cough and also signs and symptoms of intoxication, withincoordination, blurred vision, headache, analgesia, unconsciousness, cardiac irregularities, andrespiratory failure due to depression of the central nervous system. Breathing high vapour concentrationsmay cause heart rate irregularities, possibly fatal, particularly in persons with heart disease.”Amnesty International May 2015 Index: MDE 29/001/2015
SHADOW OF IMPUNITYTORTURE IN MOROCCO AND WESTERN SAHARA37(approximately US$6,035) compensation to the mining company. 51 They were cleared of thecharge of forming a criminal gang on appeal but their sentences were upheld. 52Amnesty International has been informed that although the three men contested the contentof their interrogation reports and stated they had not made such statements duringinterrogation, they made no reference to their alleged ill-treatment at trial and only disclosedthis information to their lawyer once they had been convicted, as they were unaware of theirrights and feared that they might face repercussions if they told the court of their illtreatment.Photo: Activist Yassine Madri, speaking of the ill-treatment of his brother Abdessamad following his arrest by gendarmes inMarch 2014, at an assembly of the Imidr silver mine peaceful protest movement51Interviews with family members, Imider, 3 July 2014, and lawyer, Ouarzazate, 2 July 2014;Ouarzazate Court of First Instance, Decision 133, Adult file 14/77, 24 March 2014; Criminal Chamber,Ouarzazate Court of Appeals, Decision 69, File 2014/41, 24 April 2014.52Correspondence from the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights to Amnesty International, 30March 2015 (N. 20151743).Index: MDE 29/001/2015 Amnesty International May 2015
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