Shaheed El Hafed (Refugee Camps), 2 March 2024 (SPS) - The Secretary-General of the Union of Sahrawi Journalists and Writers (UPES), Nafei Ahmed Mohammed, has affirmed that the Sahrawi people, despite the Moroccan occupation's harassments, have been able to convey their struggle thanks to the professionalism of Sahrawi journalists, media professionals, and a group of media freedom advocates around the world.
On the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the proclamation of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which concluded its activities on Thursday, Nafei Ahmed Mohammed reviewed the media situation of the Sahrawi issue under the siege imposed by the Moroccan occupation on the resistance and struggle of the Sahrawi people for freedom and independence. He touched upon the suffering of Sahrawi journalists under the occupation, stating, "Where the press is considered a crime that leads its practitioners to harassment, persecution, and detention by the Moroccan occupation forces."
In this context, the Secretary-General of the Union also pointed out the closure of Sahrawi territories by the occupation and the prevention of journalists, activists, media missions, and international observers from entering the region. "At a time when it seeks to pass off distortions to cover up the situation by organizing conditional visits for those who promote its colonial propaganda."
The Sahrawi journalist spoke about the challenges faced by dozens of Sahrawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons, especially journalists, "who are serving illegitimate and unjust sentences for their advocacy and documentation of what the Sahrawi people are subjected to in the occupied parts of the Sahrawi Republic."