The Rabat military tribunal finished, on Tuesday evening, the hearings of the people involved in the events that occurred during the dismantling of the Gdeim Izik camp in Laâyoune.

At the end of four days of hearings, the tribunal listened to all the suspects, each of whom gave their version of the facts, expressed their opinions, including political ones, and answered questions from the public prosecutor and the defence on the accusations brought against them.

The 24 accused in this case, one of whom is on provisional release, are being prosecuted for "constitution of criminal gangs, premeditated violence against law enforcement forces resulting in the death of men and mutilation of corpses".

During Tuesday's session, the defence presented a set of requests, including a request for a medical examination on one of the accused, which the tribunal decided to examine at the end of the hearings. The tribunal, on the other hand, rejected requests relating to the examination of the seized objects as instruments of the criminal act, to take fingerprints, and to compare them with the fingerprints of one of the accused.

The trial, which opened on February 1, is attended at all hearings by national and international observers, as well as representatives of numerous human rights associations and organisations and Moroccan and foreign media. Sworn interpreters and translators are also permanently present at the tribunal to ensure translation into French, English, and Spanish.

Parallel to the holding of the trial, the families of the victims and the accused are organising peaceful sit-ins in front of the tribunal headquarters.

The events of Gdeim Izik, which date back to the months of October-November 2010, resulted in 11 deaths among the law enforcement forces, including one member of the Civil Protection, 70 injured among these same forces, several of whom were seriously wounded, and four others injured among civilians, in addition to significant material damage and damage to public buildings and private property.