Western Sahara activist 'beaten' after talking to BBC

Many Western Saharans live in sprawling refugee camps in the Algerian desert
By Sam Bagnall BBC News

A human rights campaigner from the disputed territory of Western Sahara says he was beaten by Moroccan police after giving an interview to the BBC.

Rachid Sghir and his colleagues were aware of the risks they ran by being interviewed for our TV documentary series Tropic of Cancer.

But he wanted to be identified speaking to us openly on camera to highlight what he says is the ongoing mistreatment of his fellow Saharawi people.

We had arranged the interview via text message. We were told to wait at a petrol station on the outskirts of town after dark.

A car pulled up and flashed its lights - the signal to follow them through the back streets to a Saharawi safe-house.

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Source: BBC News