2009 Lanzarote Airport Hunger Strike
On 13 November 2009, Haidar was detained by Moroccan authorities at the airport in El-Aaiún when she attempted to return from a trip to Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Spain, to collect a prize. Under citizenship, she had refused to state her nationality as "Moroccan". The authorities denied her re-entry, confiscated her passport, and sent her back to the Canary Islands without it. Two Spanish journalists who had accompanied her were also detained for several hours. A Moroccan official called her refusal to call herself Moroccan as "an act of treason" and stated that Haidar would not be allowed to return to El-Aaiún until she apologized. The Spanish newspaper El País later published documents demonstrating that the Moroccan government made three different flight reservations for Haidar prior to her return, indicating that they had planned to expel her in advance.
On arriving at Lanzarote Airport, Haidar began a hunger strike. She accused Spanish officials of holding her against her will by not allowing her to return to Western Sahara without a passport. On 17 November, the airport management firm Aena filed charges against her for disturbing the public order. She was required to attend court in Arrecife and fined 180 euros.
Read more about this topic: Aminatou Haidar
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