Sidi ''Sidi'' or ''Sayidi'', also Sayyidi and Sayeedi, ( (dialectal) "milord") is an Arabic masculine title of respect. ''Sidi'' is used often to mean "saint" or "my master" in Maghrebi Arabic and Egyptian Arabic. Without the first person possessiv ...

Mohammed Daddach () (born 1957 in

Guelta Zemmur Guelta Zemmur (or Guelta Zemour, Tamazight for "olive tree pool") is a small town or village in the Moroccan-administered part of the territory of Western Sahara. The town is based around a guelta or oasis, retaining rain water for long periods ...

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

) is a Sahrawi human rights activist imprisoned for 24 years. He is often called "North African Mandela" or "Sahrawi Mandela".

Biography

In 1973 he joined the

Polisario Front The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Río de Oro (Spanish language, Spanish: ; ), better known by its acronym Polisario Front, is a Sahrawi nationalism, Sahrawi nationalist liberation movement seeking to end the occupatio ...

, the Western Sahara national liberation movement. In early 1976, as the Moroccan & Mauritanian troops invaded Western Sahara, Daddach fled with some friends trying to reach Tindouf to join the

troops (''Sahrawi People's Liberation Army''), but their jeep was gunned & intercepted by Moroccan troops near

Amgala Amgala (; ) is an oasis in Western Sahara. It is located between Tifariti and Smara, outside the Moroccan Wall in the area controlled by the Polisario. Western Sahara War Amgala was the scene of several SPLA-RMA battles. In January 1976 and a ...

. After two years of imprisonment (first in a military base in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, then in a subterranean cell), he was forced to join the

Moroccan Army The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 ...

. Daddach was again arrested & badly injured in August 1979, when he tried to defect with other soldiers, and sentenced to death on April 7, 1980 for high treason. He was imprisoned in

Kenitra Kenitra (, , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is a port on the Sebou River with a population of 507,736 as of 2024. It is one of the three main cities of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the capital of the similarly named Kénitra ...

prison.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

designated him a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

, and other human rights organizations also called for his release. In 1994, his death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment, and in 2001, he was freed following a royal amnesty by

Mohammed VI of Morocco Mohammed VI (; born 21 August 1963) is King of Morocco. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II. Upon ascending to the throne, Mohammed initially introduced severa ...

, who described it as coming from "affection for the sons of the Sahara". In 2002, Daddach was awarded the

Rafto Prize The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (''Raftoprisen'') is a human rights award established in the memory of the Norwegian human rights activist, Thorolf Rafto. Organization The prize is awarded annually by the Rafto Foundation for Human R ...

for his efforts, and after some difficulties obtaining a

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign country, access local aid ...

, he was finally able to go to collect the prize in Norway, where he also saw his mother, Enguia Bakay Lahbib, for the first time since 1975. She presently lives in exile in the refugee camps of

Tindouf Tindouf () is the main town, and a Communes of Algeria, commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Algeria–Mauritania border, Mauritanian, Algeria–Western Sahara border, Western Saharan and Algeria–Morocco border, Moroccan borders. Th ...

, Algeria. In 2009, he was awarded with the Human Rights Award of the

Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...

Bar Association, for his defense of Human Rights. The prize was given by

Guillermo Fernández Vara Guillermo Fernández Vara (born 6 October 1958) is a Spanish politician from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is descri ...

, president of

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

. According to the ''

Association de soutien à un référendum libre et régulier au Sahara Occidental Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

'' (ARSO), he was repeatedly pressured and harassed by Moroccan security services after his release. On 29 April 2013, he was one of the nine Sahrawis injured during demonstrations in El Aaiun. Daddach needed hospital attention for a wound in one of his knees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daddach, Mohammed 1957 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Morocco Living people Prisoners and detainees of Morocco Sahrawi democracy activists Sahrawi human rights activists Sahrawi prisoners sentenced to death Sahrawi rebels Prisoners sentenced to death by Morocco People convicted of treason

Biography

See also

References