Sahara activist allowed back to Morocco

LAAYOUNE, Morocco, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- A Western Sahara independence activist has been allowed to return to Morocco after a 32-day hunger strike at an airport in the Canary Islands.

Aminatou Haidar told Amnesty International the Moroccan government gave her passport back when she landed at Laayoune Airport at about midnight Thursday. She called her return a "victory for human rights and justice."

Haidar was detained at the airport on Nov. 13 when she returned from a trip to the United States, where she received the Civil Courage Award, and other countries. She was questioned on why she had called her place of residence Western Sahara instead of Moroccan Sahara on her landing card and her passport was confiscated.

The next day, she was put on a plane for Lanzarote Airport in the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain.

Haidar spent 32 days at the airport, refusing food. She was taken to a hospital Thursday morning.

The Moroccan official news agency said requests by friendly countries, including the United States, led to a humanitarian decision.