§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the dissolution of the Sahara Section of the Forum for Truth and Justice as a result of a judgment by the Laayoune Court of First Instance; and how many members of the Sahara Section of the Forum for Truth and Justice are in prison. [123462]
§ Mr. RammellOfficials are in contact with a number of different organisations in Morocco and in Western Sahara, including the Forum for Truth and Justice. We were aware that the court in Laayoune had recently formally dissolved the Forum's section in Western Sahara. However, the Forum's section in Western Sahara had been inoperative and effectively without a membership for over a year.
Some former members of the Forum continue to monitor the situation in Western Sahara and to undertake case work.
As the British Government would never have had access to the Forum's membership record and effectively the Western Sahara section of the Forum no longer exists we are therefore unable to comment on the number of former members of the Forum, their current locations or activities. We are aware of specific cases involving individuals previously associated with the dissolved section, for example, Ali Salem Tamek whose case officials have raised with the Moroccan authorities.