Morocco authorities expel Spanish activist from occupied Western Sahara

Occupied El-Ayoun, February 22, 2023 (SPS) - The Moroccan occupation authorities forcibly deported Spanish activist Núria Bota from the occupied Sahrawi territories and prevented her from entering the city of El-Ayoun, in an attempt to hide the human rights crimes committed by the Makhzen against defenseless Sahrawi civilians.

"I was recently expelled from Western Sahara after trying to travel from the city of Dakhla to the occupied city of El-Ayoun," said Núria Bota, in a press statement, adding “the security forces forced me to get out of the car and put me in a taxi accompanied by a policeman”.

She continued: "They took me to the city of Agadir, and I stayed there for three days under constant and close supervision, before deporting me to the Canary Islands on the first trip."

The Catalan activist considered what happened “is another proof of the scale of the atrocities committed against the Saharawi people and a systematic act to prevent foreign observers and activists from documenting what is happening in the occupied Western Sahara."

Núria Bota denounced the continuous violations committed against the Sahrawi people in the occupied territories, as well the involvement of the Spanish government, which has historical responsibilities in this conflict, calling on activists and human rights defenders to break the silence and blackout about the Sahrawi issue, and to speak about the suffering of the Saharawi people.

It is not the first time Morocco authorities have expelled Spanish activists and politicians who intended to pay a solidarity visits to the Sahrawi people in the occupied cities of Western Sahara who demand their right to self-determination, as confirmed by international legitimacy.

Last November, the Moroccan occupation authorities expelled two Norwegian female students from the occupied city of El-Ayoun, to hide their human rights violations in the occupied Sahrawi territories.

Many Sahrawi and international organizations and bodies have condemned preventing international journalists and activists from visiting the occupied Western Sahara and finding out the truth about what is happening there, as Morocco continues its violations against the Saharawi people within a systematic policy of repression, aimed at silencing voices and limiting freedoms, in order to prevent any kind of Sahrawi resistance that rejects Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.

SPS 110/T