Madrid, 8 February 2025 (SPS) – Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the expulsion by Moroccan occupation forces of two Spanish journalists from the occupied city of Dakhla, Western Sahara. The journalists had traveled to the region to report on the human rights situation in the occupied territories.
In a public statement, RSF reported that in recent weeks, two Spanish journalists, Francisco Carrion from the newspaper El Independiente and José Carmona from Publico, were expelled from occupied city of Dakhla by Moroccan authorities while on a work trip to document the situation of the Sahrawi population in the occupied coastal city. RSF denounced the expulsion of the two reporters from the territory "for practicing their profession as journalists."
Since January 8, the airline Ryanair has launched new direct flights to Dakhla in the occupied Sahrawi territories, in violation of international law. According to RSF, this development "prompted Carrion and Carmona to travel and investigate the situation on the Sahrawi coast."
The first attempt was made by José Carmona, who successfully entered the territory on Saturday, January 18, accompanied by two members of the State Coordination of Associations in Solidarity with the Sahara (CEAS-Sahara).
"From the moment we arrived, we realized we were under complete surveillance by the Moroccan police. It was quite uncomfortable; there was a van following us at every step we took," the journalist told Publico.
He added that the Moroccan police raided a house where they were conducting an interview. "They were then forced into a taxi, taken to a hotel, and informed that they were officially expelled from the city on orders from the Moroccan government," the NGO reported.
They left the occupied city of Dakhla but remained in the Moroccan city of Agadir until Monday, when they were able to board a return flight to Madrid.
Despite the expulsion of the Publico journalist, Carrion flew to Dakhla on Wednesday, February 5. "But the reporter wasn’t even able to leave the airport," the source stated, adding that the occupation authorities "interrogated him, confiscated his passport—which was only returned to him upon his arrival in Madrid—and forced him to sign the expulsion document."
