Mohamed Cheikh Elmoutaoikil ( ar, الشيخ محمد المتوكل; born October 10, 1966, in
Assa, Morocco) (also transliterated as ''Mohammad al-Mutawakil'') is a
Sahrawi human rights activist working in
Western Sahara and Morocco. He is a member of the
Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders
A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...
(CODESA).
Background
Elmoutaoikil has a bachelor's degree in geology.
He was jailed after he was arrested during the 2005 "
Independence Intifada". He was jailed in 1992 for one year, and was later arrested several more times. He worked as a
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
in Casablanca (he was the secretary general of the
municipality of Ben Msik, in Casablanca, in 2001). Previously, he had been secretary general of Assa's municipality, before being forced by Moroccan authorities to fled from Assa to Casablanca.
In 1992, he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment, for participating in the September 24 peaceful political demonstration to demand self-determination for the people of Western Sahara, in his hometown of Assa. He passed his sentence at Inzegane prison.
He had been a member of the Sahrawi branch of the human rights organization
Forum for Truth and Justice until its illegalization and dissolution by the Moroccan authorities. He is currently a member of the Casablanca-based Forum for Truth and Justice section, that remains a legally registered association.
Elmoutaoikil was arrested again on 20 July 2005 at his house in Casablanca along with another CODESA activist,
Mohamed Fadel Gaoudi. They were questioned about the ongoing events in Western Sahara, and then transferred to another police station in
El Aaiún. He was then charged with "participating in and inciting violent protest activities". From 8 August to 29 September, he joined other imprisoned activists in a
hunger strike.
Just before the trial,
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 it has more than ten million members and sup ...
issued a report that expressed concerns that he was not getting a fair trial, and may be a
prisoner of conscience.
Family
Elmoutaoikil is married to Minatou Bainaho.
He has three children.
See also
*
Mohamed Daddach
*
Brahim Dahane
*
Aminatou Haidar
*
Ali Salem Tamek
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmoutaoikil, Mohamed
1966 births
Living people
Prisoners and detainees of Morocco
Sahrawi human rights activists
Sahrawi democracy activists
Sahrawi prisoners and detainees