In yet another surreal scene that exposes the true nature of the Moroccan occupation and its policy of revenge against every Sahrawi voice demanding freedom and existence, Moroccan authorities yesterday carried out a new arrest of Sahrawi students and former political prisoners Salah Essabar and Ibrahim Babit.
The two were taken in unclear circumstances, with no official explanation or legal basis provided so far.
This new arrest is not an isolated incident. It is a direct continuation of the repression they faced during their first arrest in October 2024, when an occupation court in Agadir issued prison sentences against them simply for their peaceful activism and participation in university demonstrations.
Connecting Past and Present: One Policy, One Mechanism of Repression
Back in October, the occupation court sentenced Ibrahim Babit and Salah Essabar to one and a half months in prison, while Hafed Biraman and Nourdine Anflous received three months suspended sentences.
Despite the intimidation, the Sahrawi students defiantly raised the victory sign and chanted revolutionary slogans as they were transferred to the notorious Ait Melloul prison, reaffirming their unshakeable faith in the justice of their cause.
That moment revealed a broader truth:
Sahrawi students are systematically targeted across Moroccan-controlled universities through arbitrary arrests, politically motivated trials, and a constant criminalization of any expression linked to the right to self-determination.
Today, the same two activists are arrested again — without reason, without transparency, and with the same intent:
• To silence Sahrawi activism
• To break the resistance within university spaces
• To manufacture fear among future generations of Sahrawi youth
A Consistent Pattern of Targeting Sahrawi Students
Observers and human rights defenders have long affirmed that the Moroccan state applies a deliberate policy against Sahrawi students, treating them as political enemies rather than students exercising basic civil rights.
The October sentences, and now this renewed arrest, both underline:
• The systematic criminalization of Sahrawi voices in academia
• The use of the judiciary as a tool of repression
• The ongoing attempt to suffocate any form of peaceful political expression related to Western Sahara
Morocco Bears Full Responsibility
Given the secrecy surrounding the new arrest and Morocco’s documented record of abuse against Sahrawi detainees, the Moroccan state bears full responsibility for the physical and psychological safety of Salah Essabar and Ibrahim Babit.
It also carries responsibility for any escalation that may follow, particularly as Sahrawi society — in the occupied territories and university campuses alike — considers any attack on one activist to be an attack on the entire community.
Conclusion: The Truth Cannot Be Arrested
From the October verdicts to the new arrest, the pattern is unmistakable:
the Moroccan occupation relies on the same instruments of repression, yet continues to fail in breaking Sahrawi determination.
Sahrawi students have repeatedly turned courtrooms and prison corridors into spaces of resistance.
And despite the arrests, the intimidation, and the violence, one fact remains unchanged:
A people who have fought for over half a century for freedom cannot be silenced.
