November 24, 2020, Western Sahara—Journalist Nazha ElKhalidi and her fiancée have been put under house arrest and their wedding postponed by Moroccan authorities. The Coalition For Women In Journalism calls for their immediate release. 

Journalist and human rights defender Nazha ElKhalidi has been under house arrest since November 21. The journalist was detained by Moroccan security services due to her coverage of human rights violations by Moroccan authorities in Western Sahara.  

She has recently noted and reported the crackdown on freedom of expression by the Morrocan authorities in Western Sahara. Later on, her fiancée, journalist and co-founder of Equipe media, Ahmed Ettanji, was also put under house arrest. The couple were preparing for their wedding ceremony  before it was postponed by Moroccan authorities. 

Morrocan authorities claimed that this measure is part of its COVID-19 precautionary procedures. Nazha and her fiancée confirmed that social distancing and other precautionary measures were taken into account when organizing the ceremony.  

According to the Observatory for Human Rights, more than 200 Moroccan law enforcement agents surrounded the house of Nazha and Ahmed, as well as the adjacent streets in the district of Lahohoum in the center of Laâyoune, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the vicinity. 

This is the second time that Nazha has been targeted by Moroccan authorities for her work. On December 4, 2018, Moroccan authorities arrested Nazha while she live-streamed a demonstration in support of renewed UN-sponsored talks in Geneva between the Sahrawi Polisario Front and Morocco to resolve the 43-year-old conflict. The video captures the moment when the police begin to chase her. She faced charges of “claiming or usurping a title associated with a profession that is regulated by law without meeting the necessary conditions to use it,”. She stood trial in July 2019 and was fined 4,000 dirhams (€400) on the grounds that she did not have press accreditation to work as a journalist.

According to Front Line Defenders, Nazha El Khalidi is a Sahrawi woman human rights defender and member of Equipe Media, a media outlet based in Western Sahara. Nazha documents human rights violations committed by the Moroccan authorities against the Sahrawi people. 

In a heated situation, like the conflict between Morocco and Western Saharan authorities, press freedom and journalism are essential to guarantee a transparent and objective report of the facts and conditions on the ground. Nazha and her colleagues at Equipe Media do their best to document human rights violations in Western Sahara, depending on citizen journalism. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is concerned about the safety of journalist Nazha and her fiancée. CFWIJ calls upon Moroccan authorities to end this siege of their house and neighborhood. The COVID-19 pandemic should not be manipulated to impose restrictions that breach press freedom and the right to free movement.  It’s shameful how authorities have used this calamity to justify its human rights infringements.