The Spanish actor Willy Toledo and the vice president of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, in addition to several dozen Saharawi civilians, were "violently beaten" by the Moroccan police this Wednesday, according to the Saharawi Communication Service in the Canary Islands. A few months ago, Willy Toledo actively participated in the campaign to support Aminatou Haidar, during the hunger strike that the activist developed in Lanzarote.
Now, he was inside a group of international observers at the El Aaiún airport, capital of Western Sahara, to ensure the integrity of a group of 25 Saharawi human rights defenders who were returning from Algiers, after participating in an international meeting.
According to a statement, "the violent reaction of the Moroccan security forces" resulted in "numerous Saharawi injured" who had come to receive the activists. Thus, the actor Willy Toledo suffered a broken finger, among other injuries, and the activist Mohamed Mayara received "a brutal beating", for which he had to be transferred to a hospital. It is feared that he may lose his sight.
The activist Sultana Jaya also suffered injuries, who was left "blind in one eye by the blow of a Moroccan policeman", after a sit-in by Saharawi students at the University of Marrackech a few years ago, according to this statement.
After managing to leave the airfield, the human rights activists, dozens of Saharawi civilians and the international observers, about eight Spaniards in total, tried to reach their homes in the city, suffering again "the violent harassment of the Moroccan forces." This is the second group of the 72 Saharawi human rights activists who were returning from Algiers.
