Ayoub El Ghan
Ayoub El-Ghan is an activist from Western Sahara, who was run over by the police in a peaceful protest in Laayoune city in 2018.
AYOUB’S STORY
On Thursday, 28 June 2018, coinciding with a visit of the UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, Horst Köhler, Sahrawi activists, including Ayoub, organised a peaceful protest to inform Mr Köhler of the abuses and human rights violations suffered by people in Western Sahara.
Following threats and beatings by police personnel against protestors, Ayoub and other protestors were forced to enter a small street, where he saw a 4×4 blue armoured police car coming at high speed in his direction. The police ran him over, and once they hit him, they reversed and ran him over again. After the second time he was hit, Ayoub was no longer in control of his legs and fell on the floor.
Ayoub was in a coma in the hospital for 12 days after he underwent an operation for internal bleeding, and remained hospitalised for over two months. Whilst hospitalised in Laayoune, Ayoub’s family was harassed and physically abused by the Moroccan police, in an attempt to intimidate and silence them.
Ayoub was subsequently harassed by the Moroccan police when attempting to travel in 2019, and was subjected to arrest and interrogation based on false accusations. He faced further intimidation and threats and was forced to sign 12 police reports that he was not allowed to read.
As a result of the torture and ill-treatment that Ayoub faced at the hands of the Moroccan police, he suffered profound and enduring physical and psychological harm.
Ayoub’s experience is not an isolated case, as human rights violations by the Moroccan police against individuals from Western Sahara (Sahrawis) are systematic. Survivors of torture in Western Sahara often fear filing complaints against Moroccan police officers, because of the risks of retaliation, and feel discouraged because such complaints offer no prospect of success or accountability. Nevertheless, Ayoub attempted to take criminal legal action to seek justice and accountability. He filed a complaint to the police on 14 January 2019, and followed up numerous times, but to the best of his knowledge, no investigation or legal proceeding was ever initiated.
Given the harassment against him and his family and his fear for his life and freedom, Ayoub decided to leave the country and seek justice through international human rights mechanisms.
ACTION FOR JUSTICE
On 13 April 2026, REDRESS brought Ayoub’s case to the attention of the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT), after domestic remedies proved ineffective. Ayoub asks the CAT to urge the Moroccan government to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the incident he suffered in 2018, to provide him with fair and adequate compensation for the life-changing harm he suffered as a result of his torture, and issue a public apology and implement measures of non-repetition.
QUICK FACTS
Case name: Ayoub El-Ghan
Court/ Body: UN Committee Against Torture
Date filed: 13 April 2026
Current status: Under review
Legal representation: REDRESS
KEY WORDS
The UN Committee Against Torture is a United Nations treaty body that monitors the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) by its States parties.
Western Sahara has been on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories since 1963. A number of States had recognised the sovereignty of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which enjoys full member status in the African Union.
