October 24, 2010 – Gdeim Izik protest camp
14 year-old. Shot dead : deceased
- Last update: 17:02 - First published
The Gdeim Izik protest camp (also spelled Gdayam Izik) was a protest camp in Western Sahara, established on 9 October 2010 and lasting into November that year, with related incidents occurring in the aftermath of its dismantlement on 8 November. The primary focus of the protests was against “ongoing discrimination, poverty and human rights abuses against local citizens“.
While protests were initially peaceful, they were later marked by clashes between Sahrawi civilians and Moroccan security forces. Some referred to the protests as the Third Sahrawi Intifada.
By the first week of November, the Gdeim Izik protest camp’s population was estimated at around 5,000. The primary objective of the camp was to protest against “ongoing discrimination, poverty and human rights abuses against local citizens”, but later some protesters also demanded independence for Western Sahara.
On 24 October, a vehicle trying to enter the camp was fired upon by Moroccan Army forces. As a result, 14-year-old Nayem Elgarhi died and other passengers were injured. According to the Moroccan Interior ministry, a bullet was fired from the vehicle forcing the security forces to return fire, with a final toll of one dead and three injured. However, according to the Polisario front, there were no weapons in the vehicle. According to SADR’s Occupied Territories and Communities Abroad Ministry, while the youths were bringing food, water and medicines to the protest camp, they were chased by the security forces since they fled El Aaiún.
Elgarhi‘s family denounced the boy’s secret burial, demanding a trial for the officers who shot him.
US Congressman Donald M. Payne, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, released the following statement:
“I am deeply saddened by the death of Al-Nagem Al-Qarhi, a young Sahrawi teenager who sought nothing but to join other Sahrawis in a peaceful demonstration calling for better living conditions for himself and the people of Western Sahara. My condolences go out to his family and the other passengers of the vehicle who were also shot at and beaten by Moroccan forces in the attack, and to the many Sahrawi protesters. Their voices will not be silenced by the threat of violence nor will the injustices perpetrated against their people by the Moroccan authorities forever go unpunished.“
Physical violence
| Arrest | |
| Detention / Custody | |
| Hustle / Projection | |
| Prone position / lying flat on the stomach / ventral decubitus | |
| “Folding” (holding a person in a seated position with their head resting on their knees) | |
| Painful armlock | |
| Kicks, punches, slaps | |
| Feet / knees on the nape of the neck, chest or face | |
| Blows to the victim while under control and/or on the ground | |
| Blows to the ears | |
| Strangulation / chokehold | |
| Fingers forced backwards | |
| Spraying with water | |
| Dog bites | |
| Hair pulling | |
| Painful tightening of colson ties or handcuffs | |
| Painfully pulling by colson ties or handcuffs | |
| Sexual abuse | |
| Striking with a police vehicle | |
| Electric shocks | |
| Use of gloves | |
| X | Use of firearm |
| Use of “Bean bags” (a coton sack containing tiny lead bullets) | |
| Use of FlashBall weapon | |
| Use of sound grenade | |
| Use of dispersal grenade | |
| Use of teargas grenade | |
| Use of rubber bullets weapon (LBD40 type) | |
| Use of batons | |
| Use of Pepper Spray | |
| Use of Taser gun | |
| Use of tranquillisers | |
| Torture / Inhumane and degrading treatment | |
| Execution | |
| Kidnapping | |
| Disappearance |
Psychological violence
| Charge of disturbing public order | |
| Charge of rebellion | |
| Accusation of beatings to officer | |
| Charge of threatening officer | |
| Charge of insulting an officer | |
| Charge of disrespect | |
| Charge of resisting arrest | |
| Aggressive behaviour, disrespect, insults | |
| Intimidation, blackmail, threats | |
| Vexing or intimidating identity check | |
| Mock execution | |
| Intimidation or arrest of witnesses | |
| Prevented from taking photographs or from filming the scene | |
| Calls to end torment remained unheeded | |
| Prolonged uncomfortable position | |
| Failure to assist a person in danger | |
| Photographs, fingerprints, DNA | |
| Threat with a weapon | |
| Shooting in the back | |
| Charging without warning | |
| Kettling (corraling protestors to isolate them from the rest of the demonstration) | |
| Car chase | |
| Sexist remarks | |
| Homophobic remarks | |
| Racist comments | |
| Intervention in a private place | |
| At the police station | |
| Mental health issues | |
| Harassment | |
| Body search | |
| Home search | |
| Violence by fellow police officers | |
| Passivity of police colleagues | |
| Lack or refusal of the police officer to identify him or herself | |
| Refusal to notify someone or to telephone | |
| Refusal to administer a breathalyzer | |
| Refusal to fasten the seatbelt during transport | |
| Refusal to file a complaint | |
| Refusal to allow medical care or medication | |
| Lies, cover-ups, disappearance of evidence | |
| Undress before witnesses of the opposite sex | |
| Bend down naked in front of witnesses | |
| Lack of surveillance or monitoring during detention | |
| Lack of signature in the Personal Effects Register during detention | |
| Deprivation during detention (water, food) | |
| Inappropriate sanitary conditions during detention (temperature, hygiene, light) | |
| Sleep deprivation | |
| Confiscation, deterioration, destruction of personal effects | |
| Pressure to sign documents | |
| Absence of a report | |
| Complacency of doctors |
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