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Sahara : Morocco expels five foreign observers and the Polisario sends a letter to the UN

Morocco expels five international observers who were planning to attend the trial of Nezha Khalidi. / Ph. DR
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On Monday, the Polisario Front sent a letter to the permanent representative of Kuwait to the United Nations, who is heading the Security Council for the month of June, denouncing the «expulsion of international observers from the Sahara».

In a letter, published by the Front’s news agency, the separatist movement alleged that Morocco «attempts to firmly keep the occupied territories of Western Sahara off limits to international observers and foreign journalists».

«The objective is none other than to hide the heinous crimes perpetrated by the Moroccan occupying forces against Sahrawi civilians», wrote the Polisario’s representative at the United Nations, Sidi Mohamed Omar.

According to Europa Press, the Moroccan authorities expelled, Sunday, «three observers from the General Council of Spanish Lawyers and two others from the United States» who were planning to attend the trial of Nezha Khalidi, which opened Monday before being postponed to July 8.

The Spanish news agency reported that the Spanish lawyers, namely Inés Miranda Navarro, Miguel Ángel Juan and José María Costa Serra - arrived Sunday morning by plane to Laayoune from the Canary Islands but they were not allowed to get off the plane.

On Saturday, two observers from the American Bar Association (ABA) arrived at Casablanca airport for the same reason.

For the record, Nezha Khalidi is tried for not having professional credentials to practice journalism. She was arrested in December, 2018, for livestreaming on Facebook a street scene in Laayoune.

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