Mohamed Mayyara

Mohamed Mayyara is a Sahrawi journalist and human rights defender who advocates for the rights of the Sahrawi people in the occupied Western Sahara. The human rights defender co-founded the ‘Sahrawi Association of Victims of Serious Human Rights Violations (ASVDH)’ in 2005 and the organisation ‘Équipe Média’ in 2009. These organizations work on documenting human rights violations committed by the Moroccan authorities in the occupied Western Sahara and raising international awareness about the Western Sahara cause.

Due to his human rights work, Mohamed Mayyara has been subjected to harassment, intimidation, and physical assault. He was dismissed from his job as a civil servant in 2007 after participating in the sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In 2015, he was also dismissed without reason from his job as a high school teacher. His family has similarly faced harrassment because of his human rights work.