Algiers, 4 July 2025 (SPS) – Sahrawi media have managed to break the blockade imposed by the Moroccan occupation on the occupied part of Western Sahara, despite all the maneuvers of the Makhzen regime. This breakthrough comes amid growing international support for the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination, thanks to the efforts of Sahrawi journalists and human rights organizations active in the territory.
In a statement to APS, the president of Equipe Media, Ahmed Al-Tanji, stressed that "the Sahrawi issue is present on the international media scene, despite the blockade imposed by the Moroccan occupation and the ban on foreign delegations entering the territory to conceal its crimes."
He added, "In recent years, we have seen increasing interest from certain international media, particularly European outlets, as European newspapers and press agencies—especially Spanish ones—publish articles based on reports from our agency (Equipe Media)."
"We also see solidarity from independent European journalists who use our reports as sources of information," he continued.
Ahmed Al-Tanji further highlighted "the severe repression faced by Sahrawi journalists in the occupied territories, preventing them from documenting human rights violations and conveying the demands of the Sahrawi people regarding their right to self-determination, freedom, and independence." He noted that "seven journalists are detained in the occupation’s prisons, with sentences ranging from ten years to life imprisonment."
For his part, the Secretary-General of the "Mizrat" network, active in the occupied part of Western Sahara, Sahel Ould Ahl Amilid, emphasized that "media in occupied Western Sahara have succeeded in breaking the isolation of the territory and exposing the suffering of the Sahrawi people, particularly regarding blatant human rights violations and the plundering of natural resources."
In this regard, he stated that Sahrawi media, "despite their limited—or even non-existent—resources, have managed to confront Morocco’s fierce media arsenal," pointing to the "significant sums" spent by the Moroccan occupation to spread its propaganda and fake news online.
The same official stressed that "many international media rely on Sahrawi journalists as sources of information, especially since the international community acknowledges the credibility of the reports they publish."
Meanwhile, Ali Salem Al-Tamek, president of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders in Western Sahara (CODESA), stated that "the military, police, and media blockade imposed (by Morocco) on the occupied part of Western Sahara is part of the occupation’s mechanisms to enforce a colonial reality." Among other measures, he cited the ban on international observers entering the occupied territory.
However, he added, "this blockade and other tools of repression have been thwarted by the Sahrawi people, particularly through protests."
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