ICRC calls for release of all Moroccans detained in Tindouf camps

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appealed for the immediate release of Moroccan prisoners of war still detained in the Tindouf Camps, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

In a statement released following the release and repatriation, under its auspices, of 300 Moroccan prisoners, the Geneva-based ICRC recalled that "ICRC delegates, including two doctors, spoke to each prisoner in private to establish that he was returning of his own free will. They also provided medical care throughout the operation.

"The prisoners left Tindouf (Algeria) on aircraft provided by the Libyan authorities, and were handed over to the Moroccan authorities," says the humanitarian organization which supervised the operation.

"Since February 2003, 643 Moroccan prisoners have been released under the auspices of the ICRC. Currently, 614 others are still deprived of their freedom. Pending their repatriation, the ICRC is continuing to visit them regularly and to provide them with medical care. The organization is also maintaining contact between the prisoners and their families, by facilitating the exchange of Red Cross messages, delivering parcels from the families and visiting them in Morocco," the release went on.

The communique concludes by an appeal for the "immediate release of the remaining pows, in accordance with international humanitarian law."