A French mayor wants to meet King Mohammed VI in his Betz palace

Ivry-sur-Seine mayor Philippe Bouyssou wants to help the wife of a Sahrawi prisoner, wishing to visit her husband who is detained in Morocco. He is planning to visit the Betz Castle on Tuesday «hoping to be received by King Mohammed VI», said the daily newspaper Le Parisien.

The mayor wants to discuss the «desperate situation» of Claude Mangin, a 61-year-old French woman and the wife of Sahrawi activist Naama Asfari, imprisoned in the Kingdom. The latter was «expelled from the country on April, 16th and hence couldn’t stay to visit her prisoner husband», said the same source adding that she has not seen her spouse in 21 months.

Philippe Bouyssou sent the embassy a letter on April the 19th to «inform King Mohammed VI» about the situation. He wrote: «[Mrs Claude-Mangin-Asfari] has just been banned from entering the Moroccan territory again, she has visited the country for the 4th time since 2016 to see her husband. Faced with this new obstacle, Claude Mangin-Asfari has just made the serious decision to start a hunger strike. In this regard, I have the greatest fears for her health and for her life.»

For the mayor, «only an authorization to visit the Kingdom can put an end to this situation». Philippe Bouyssou thus asked to meet the king added the same source. Even though King Mohammed VI has returned to Morocco, Philippe Bouyssou will go to Betz on Tuesday 24th of April.