French lawyer Gilles Devers, who represented the Polisario before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), died at the age of 68 following an illness. His fight for the so-called “self-determination of peoples” found suspicious links with Algeria and its relays.
Announced by the Polisario which regretted its disappearance, the death of the official lawyer of the Polisario deals a new blow to the separatist militia and Algeria which finances it.
Specialized in international law and registered with the Lyon bar, Devers was a central figure in the defense of the interests of the Polisario, notably in his legal actions against the agricultural and fishing agreements between Morocco and the European Union for which he was specially mandated by Algeria.
He acted not only on behalf of the Polisario but also for other Sahrawi separatist figures and counted among his clients institutions close to Algeria, such as the Grand Mosque of Paris, headed by his predecessor, the Algerian Chems-Eddine Hafiz who was designated as Polisario lawyer until 2014.
Since 2012, Gilles Devers was part of the team which brought before the CJEU the Polisario’s complaints aimed at excluding the Sahara from the fishing and agricultural agreements concluded between Rabat and Brussels.
After the departure of Chems-Eddine Hafiz, he was appointed main lawyer for the militia and never missed an opportunity to speak in the media to defend his clients. Under his leadership, the CJEU has rendered several judgments in favor of the Polisario, such as those of September 29, 2021 and October 4, 2024, invalidating the agreements concluded between the European Union and Morocco, even if this decision was regretted by the main signatory countries.
In addition to his activities at the CJEU, Devers actively participated in conferences organized by the Polisario in Europe and showed himself to be much more than a lawyer but a sympathizer. He was also engaged in various campaigns, notably those led by Algeria. In November 2023, he headed a group of lawyers who filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Beyond his links with the Polisario, Gilles Devers also had clients like Hamas.
In June 2024, he was in Tunisia alongside Rima Hassan, a rising figure of the French far left, and had also maintained links with names close to the Algerian regime. He had also defended the Sahrawi extremist Naâma Asfari and was close to Oubi Bouchraya Bachir, the alleged representative of the Polisario in Europe.
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