An American and a Canadian citizen were today kicked out of occupied Western Sahara. The two wanted to interview Saharawis regarding the US-Canadian exploitation of natural resources in the territory.
Photo above: The above photo of the police checkpoint was taken at the time when Foster and Espey were detained on the inside.
US citizen Michael Foster and Canadian Tess Espey traveled this morning to Western Sahara to interview Saharawis regarding the exploitation of natural resources in the territory.
Canada is, by far, the key importer of phosphates from Western Sahara. Espey is from Vancouver, the port-city that is receiving most phosphates from Western Sahara worldwide. The importer in the city is Agrium Inc., a fertilizer production company.
The delegation took the bus from Marrakech last night, and arrived at the check point of El Aaiun at 11 AM in this morning, 17 January.
The police told the two that they doubted Espey and Foster had come to El Aauin to do tourism. Around 1PM they were deported in a taxi with other foreigners.
Five other foreign delegations have today been kicked out off the occupied territories, including people from Norway, Poland and the Netherlands.
"It is extremely undoable. At that point it was nothing we could do to get into the city. Our reasons were very legitimate, but it was definitely no way we would get in", stated Foster to Western Sahara Resource Watch.
"I think it is embarrassing that Canadian companies are pivotal in exploration of resources of Western Sahara. They should stop. It is unjust, underpinning the human rights violations. It is against the moral standings that Canada is trying promote on the world stage", Espey stated.
The last weeks have seen daily demonstrations by unemployed Saharawis in the occupied territories.
Tūhana human rights advisors ignore human rights
A consultancy hired to assess phosphate imports from occupied Western Sahara into New Zealand concludes there is no problem.
MEPs push back on Commission over Western Sahara in EU–Morocco trade
MEPs from across the political spectrum sharply criticised the European Commission over its handling of EU-Morocco trade relations covering occupied Western Sahara, raising concerns over legality, transparency and an apparent disregard for Parliament’s role.
SRI update
The following overview enlists stock-exchange registered companies with current or recent operations in occupied Western Sahara. Updated 16 April 2026
Siemens Energy sidesteps key questions on Western Sahara
At its 2026 Annual General Meeting, Siemens Energy defended its involvement in wind energy projects in occupied Western Sahara.