A Norwegian observer was expelled Thursday (December 14th) after being arrested in Laayoune by the Moroccan police, who forced her to go to Agadir, the woman told the Spanish news agency EFE. Tone Moe was accredited as an observer at Gdim Izik's trial. She had gone to Laayoune last Wednesday to meet with the families of the convicts and visit the detainees in the detention center. According to her, this visit was made in the name of the «Fundación Sáhara Occidental», whose seat is established in Spain. Leaving the hotel where she was staying, a police officer reportedly approached her and forced her to return to the building. Later, more than twenty police officers reportedly went to the hotel to inform her that she was not allowed to go to the prison and that she was «not welcomed» as an international observer. They indicated, however, that she could stay in Western Sahara as a tourist. The police then accompanied her to the taxi stand in Laayoune, where they were forced her to take a taxi to Agadir. However, they informed her that she can carry her activities both in Agadir and in Rabat, where other families of convicts from Gdim Izik were settled, but not in the Saharawi region. No official Moroccan source has commented on the expulsion of the Norwegian observer, according to EFE. In 2016, the Moroccan police expelled 93 people, all in favor of the separatist thesis defended by the Polisario Front, including lawyers, journalists and members of NGOs.
