The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has denounced Moroccan authorities for continuing to restrict press freedom in Western Sahara, following the recent expulsion of two Italian freelance journalists from the disputed territory.
Journalist Matteo Garavoglia and photographer Giovanni Colmoni were deported after being detained on April 27 while attempting to enter Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara, by car. Moroccan security forces arrested the pair and transferred them to Agadir in southwestern Morocco, where they were subsequently expelled from the country.
CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa Program Director Sara Qudah described the incident as part of a broader “media blockade” imposed by Moroccan authorities in the region. “Authorities must allow independent reporting from a region where transparency is already severely limited,” she stated.
According to Moroccan officials, the journalists lacked official authorization and had previously tried to access Western Sahara via air. State-aligned outlet Hespress reported claims that the two were engaged in “provocative acts” and accused them of promoting separatist views — allegations which Western Sahara press freedom group Equipe Media said were unsubstantiated.
The Italian journalists had intended to document human rights conditions in the territory, according to Sahara Press Service.
Western Sahara remains a disputed region between Morocco and the Polisario Front, which advocates for independence on behalf of the indigenous Sahrawi people. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975 and maintains strict control over reporting in the area, requiring foreign journalists to obtain prior authorization. Independent media in Morocco is limited, and criticism of the monarchy or government policy in Western Sahara is heavily censored.
CPJ reported that repeated attempts to reach Morocco’s Ministry of Interior for comment went unanswered. Numerous international journalists, human rights advocates, and foreign politicians have previously been expelled from the region.