Rome, 24 December 2022 (SPS) - "Marocgate" continues to reveal its secrets as the days go by, this time with the Sahrawi human rights activist, Sultana Khaya, who would have been a victim of this vast corruption scandal in the European Parliament (EP) in which Morocco is implicated, after being rejected for the EP Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought.
In the continuity of the "Marocgate" saga, the Italian newspaper "Il fatto quotidiano", quoting investigators from the federal prosecutor's office in Brussels, indicated that the interference of the Moroccan regime would not have been limited to influencing the decisions of the European Parliament concerning Morocco, but would also have been focused on the "appointment of members of Eurochamber committees that dealt with sensitive issues for the Maghreb country", including that of 'candidates for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought'.
Analyzing the list presented by various political groups, continues the Italian media, "we note that in 2021 the Left Group has proposed Sultana Khaya, the Sahrawi activist of human rights and the independence of occupied Western Sahara, so that his name appears in the trio of finalists.
With the complicity of MEPs in the pay of Morocco which exerted pressure within the EP, the Sahrawi activist was deprived of this prize, while she was under house arrest with her sister and mother in occupied Boujdour.
In an interview with the same newspaper, Sultana Khaya recounted her joy at being nominated for this award while she was locked in her house, before expressing her disappointment at learning of her defeat, saying that she "was not surprised at all".
"My belief from the start was that there would be pressure from the Moroccan government to change the outcome of this vote," she said.
"This candidacy seemed to me to be a great help. We needed someone to literally save our lives. This candidacy seemed to me to be an important link with the outside world," the activist described.
"I found this candidacy to be a great help. We needed someone to literally save our lives. This candidacy felt like an important link to the outside world," the activist said.
"After the rape I suffered, discovering that behind my defeat in the Sakharov Prize is perhaps the maneuvering of emissaries of the Moroccan government, with the complicity of European parliamentarians, is like having been raped for a second time. If this were the case, it would be a serious violation of human rights," she added.
With this prize, "our cause would have been better known throughout the world", because the main objective of the Saharawi people remains independence, she stressed.
Asked about this resounding scandal within the EP, Sultana Khaya welcomed the fact that it had come to light. "The world now knows that Morocco is forced to buy parliamentarians to cover up its violations against us. This is a victory for my people," she said.
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