Kicked out of airport and forced home
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The Sahrawi youth who were to attend a peace seminar in London - and who were refused exit from Morocco - have got a tough treatment. First they were forcibly expelled from Agadir airport. Thursday night they were taken in a police escort all the way back to the occupied territories of Western Sahara.
Published 07 August 2009


Photo above taken Friday night in El Aaiun, Western Sahara.

The six Sahrawi youth were kicked out of Agadir Airport at 6 PM Thursday afternoon. The youth had all papers to go abroad, when they were about to travel to a peace seminar in London.

When forcibly expelled out of the airport, they had been sitting inside the airport terminal for more than 24 hours, protesting the Moroccan government's decision to refuse them permission to leave Morocco. They had then initiated a hunger strike in protest.

Approximately 8 PM Thursday night, they were put in a taxi and given police escort all the way back to occupied Western Sahara.

Early Friday morning they arrived El Aaiun in Western Sahara. There, they had to go through a one hour long interrogation. The police checked their cell phones, to see whom they had been in contact with the last days.

The purpose of the reconciliation talks in London, was to have Sahrawis and Moroccan youth to meet to discuss the conflict.

The Moroccan authorities have still not explained why the Sahrawi delegation was denied permission to travel to London.

When it comes to the refusal of the Moroccan delegation, the Moroccan government still claims that all the 7 people in the delegation suddenly had family problems.

Read more about Morocco's sabotage of this week's peace seiminar here.

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