After being held without charges for months in the overcrowded cell in the Black Prison in El Aaiun pictured here, 14 independence fighters in Western Sahara were sentenced in a kangaroo court December 14 to up to three years in prison for helping lead pro-independence rallies in the Moroccan-occupied northwest African country. They were charged with belonging to an illegal organization, gathering on the streets without permission, damaging public property, and assaulting police.

Among those convicted were prominent independence leaders, including Ali Salem Tamek, Aminatou Haider, Brahim Noumria, Mohamed Elmoutaoikil, Lidri Elhoucine, Larbia Messaoud, and Hmad Hammad. According to the Sahara Press Service, pro-independence demonstrations have continued in the Western Saharan cities of El Aaiun, Dakhla, and Assa.

—Brian Taylor  
 
 
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