Equipe Media
El Aaiun – Occupied Western Sahara
25/10/2024- The International Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders has denounced the forced expulsion of journalists Ahmed Brahim Ettanji and Mohamed Haiba Mayara from Boujdour in occupied Western Sahara.
The two journalists, who reside in El Aaiun, were prevented from visiting their family in Boujdour on October 9, 2024. Upon arrival, they were detained for an hour by Moroccan occupation authorities. Subsequently, they were pressured to leave the city under threat of arrest and were banned from returning.
The Observatory highlighted the ongoing surveillance and harassment faced by the “Equipe Media” agency, which employs the expelled journalists. In 2021, Moroccan occupation forces disrupted a training workshop organized by the agency, assaulting several participants.
The international group urged Moroccan occcupying authorities to respect the freedom of movement of the journalists and to cease all forms of intimidation and harassment against them and other human rights defenders in Western Sahara.