Sofyan El Bouchtili on Muck Rack

Sofyan El Bouchtili

Amsterdam
Covers:  Ranging from municipal governance and civil rights to academic research collaborations with military and security actors, migration policy, nitrogen regulation and colonial legacies

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Sofyan El Bouchtili’s Biography

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Sofyan El Bouchtili is a Belgian freelance investigative journalist based in Amsterdam. He reports across a wide range of topics, with a focus on how government policies and institutional decisions affect people’s access to rights, public services and democratic protections.

Recent reporting includes investigations into municipal “aggression policy", academic cooperation with military actors, nitrogen and agricultural policy, and the role of public institutions in upholding human rights.

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Interview

Why did you become a journalist?

I became a journalist out of a mix of curiosity and lived experience. Growing up as the child of migrants, I was always aware of what it means to live as a minority in a democracy, and I was also the kid who always asked one more question — in class and at home. That awareness developed gradually, shaped by the period after 9/11, the rise of Vlaams Blok (later Vlaams Belang) in Belgium, and the racism and discrimination I saw around me. Together, those experiences sparked a lasting interest in the rule of law and in how fragile rights can be, especially for people who are easily turned into scapegoats. As a journalist, that curiosity translates into reporting on how governments and powerful institutions treat people with the least power, and how public policy and economic interests affect their rights in practice.