Woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya attacked in her home
On 5 December 2021, prominent Sahrawi woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya was sexually assaulted once again in her home by Moroccan authorities. Sultana Khaya’s sister, Luara Khaya, was also subjected to the sexual assault.
On 8 November 2021, Sahrawi woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya was attacked, sexually and physically assaulted and forcibly injected with an unknown liquid in her home by Moroccan security forces. Sultana Khaya’s sister and elderly mother were also attacked and sexually assaulted by the forces.
Sultana Khaya is a S
ahrawi woman human rights defender whose work focuses on women’s rights and promoting the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people. The woman human rights defender is President of the organisation League for the Defense of Human Rights and against Plunder of Natural Resources. Sultana Khaya regularly participates in peaceful demonstrations advocating for the right to self-determination and denouncing violence against Sahrawi women.
On 5 December 2021, prominent Sahrawi woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya was sexually assaulted once again in her home by Moroccan authorities. Sultana Khaya’s sister, Luara Khaya, was also subjected to the sexual assault.
Sultana Khaya is a Sahrawi woman human rights defender whose work focuses on promoting the right of self-determination for the Sahrawi people, through participating in several peaceful demonstrations. The woman human rights defender is president of the organisation League for the Defense of Human Rights and against Plunder of Natural Resources in Boujdour.
On Sunday, 5 December 2021 at approximately 4:30am, Sultana Khaya’s house was broken into by Moroccan agents. The woman human rights defender was sleeping in the same room as her sister, brother and 84-year old mother. All members of the household were zip-tied before the woman human rights defender and her sister were attacked. The agents who raided the house forcibly put a rag on Sultana Khaya, and forced her to inhale an unknown substance that caused her limbs to go numb. During the following two hours, the woman human rights defender and her sister were repeatedly gang-raped and beaten by the agents. The following 15 minutes after the attack, Sultana Khaya was forcibly injected into her left hip, which caused her to lose the feeling in her left side.
During the assault, Sultana Khaya was injected with an unknown substance, which was likely the same with which she was first injected when the human rights defender was previously attacked, sexually and physically assaulted in her home by Moroccan security forces on 8 November 2021. In that occasion, Sultana Khaya’s sister and elderly mother were also subjected to the physical and sexual attack by the agents. Since the human rights defender was also previously attacked on 25 August 2021 and 10 May 2021, it emerges a pattern of targeted sexual harassment aimed at intimidating the woman human rights defender.
Sultana Khaya has been under de facto house arrest since 19 November 2020, with Moroccan security forces maintaining a heavy presence outside of her house. During this time, the woman human rights defender has been repeatedly subjected to physical, verbal and sexual assaults. On 1 July 2021, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor condemned the reprisals against Sultana Khaya, and “expressed particular concern about the apparent use of violence and the threat of violence to prevent and obstruct women human rights defenders in their peaceful human rights activities in Western Sahara.”
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned by the latest raid, physical assault and sexual harassment carried out by Moroccan security forces against woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya and her family members. It reiterates its concern about the arbitrary house arrest, and the ongoing harassment against the woman human rights defender. Front Line Defenders believes that Sultana Khaya is being targeted solely as a result of her peaceful and legitimate human rights work.
On 8 November 2021, Sahrawi woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya was attacked, sexually and physically assaulted and forcibly injected with an unknown liquid in her home by Moroccan security forces. Sultana Khaya’s sister and elderly mother were also attacked and sexually assaulted by the forces.
Sultana Khaya is a Sahrawi woman human rights defender whose work focuses on women’s rights and promoting the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people. The woman human rights defender is President of the organisation League for the Defense of Human Rights and against Plunder of Natural Resources. Sultana Khaya regularly participates in peaceful demonstrations advocating for the right to self-determination and denouncing violence against Sahrawi women.
On 8 November at 4:30AM, two buses full of masked Moroccan security forces in plain-clothes parked outside and broke into Sultana Khaya’s house. The officers forcibly entered the house using a construction crane to get up to the roof, before making their way down to open the door to allow more agents to come in. The officers then went to where Sultana Khaya and her family lived and broke into the apartment, without presenting any warrant. Sultana Khaya was aggressively handled by the officers who zip-tied her wrists behind her back and stripped her. They continued to physically and sexually assault her and her sister, Laura Khaya, before forcibly injecting her with an unknown substance, proclaiming that Sultana Khaya would be sick and no longer able to protest. The officers physically and sexually assaulted the three women before leaving at 6:30AM, taunting them with death threats.
Sultana Khaya has been under de facto house arrest since 19 November 2020, with Moroccan security forces maintaining a heavy presence outside her house, during which time the woman human rights defender has been subjected to physical, verbal and sexual assaults. On 1 July 2021, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor condemned the reprisals against Sultana Khaya and “expressed particular concern about the apparent use of violence and the threat of violence to prevent and obstruct women human rights defenders in their peaceful human rights activities in Western Sahara.”
Front Line Defenders is deeply concerned by the most recent raid, physical assault and sexual harassment carried out by Moroccan security forces against woman human rights defender Sultana Khaya and her family members, and reiterates its concern about the arbitrary house arrest and the ongoing harassment of the woman human rights defender. Front Line Defenders believes that Sultana Khaya is being targeted solely as a result of her peaceful and legitimate human rights work. Front Line Defenders is also deeply concerned about the targeting of peaceful Sahrawi activists and highlights that their peaceful and legitimate human rights activities should be carried out without deterrence
