Mohamed Al-Bambary - Sahrawi Prisoner of Conscience

Mohamed al-Bambary is a Sahrawi media activist currently serving six years in prison for his journalism. Al-Bambary was arrested in August 2015 while attempting to renew his identification card at the police station in Western Sahara. He was arrested for an article he wrote in September 2011 where he reported on peaceful protests that ultimately turned into three days of violent clashes between two neighborhoods in Dakhla, Western Sahara after the conclusion of a local soccer game. Al-Bambary’s reporting included criticism of the Moroccan government’s response to the violence. In June 2018, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that al-Bambary’s detention violated international law and called for his immediate release.