Sahara : Morocco expels seven people, including five Spanish lawyers

Five Spanish lawyers were expelled, Sunday, by the Moroccan authorities after they arrived at Laayoune airport, Europa Press reports.

Maria Dolores Travieso, a lawyer defended pro-Polisario activist Aminatou Haidar in the past, Ruth Sebastian Garcia, Lourdes Baron, Ramon Campos and Sidi Mohamed Taleb Buya were accompanied by two Norwegian observers from an NGO called Rafto, said the agency.

These seven people went to the Sahara as «observers for the trial of Nezha Khalidi, who is affiliated to Equipe Media group in Laayoune».

The decision of the Moroccan authorities was denounced, Sunday, by pro-Polisario platform Futuro Sahara.

On Thursday, New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the Moroccan authorities in a statement, for «using a law designed to keep people from falsely claiming professional credentials to bring criminal charges against people trying to expose abuses».

HRW referred to the case of Khalidi who was arrested in December, 2018, for livestreaming on Facebook a street scene in Laayoune and denouncing «repression». Khalidi is expected to go on trial on May 20 for «not meeting the requirements to call herself a journalist».