Leader of Western Sahara separatist movement testifies in Spanish court

Leader of Western Sahara separatist movement testifies in Spanish court

Brahim Ghali has been source of tension between Spain, Morocco

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Brahim Ghali, leader of a separatist movement seeking independence from Morocco, on Tuesday testified in a Spanish court over allegations of torture and genocide.

Speaking to the judge from a hospital in La Rioja, Ghali, the head of Polisario Front, denied all charges.

“He demonstrated that all the accusations were false… and said that the complaint was absolutely political,” his lawyer Manuel Olle told media.

Ghali had entered Spain for COVID-19 treatment in late April, but Spanish officials did not advise their southern neighbors that they were harboring a man Morocco considers a “war criminal.”

This provoked outrage in Moroccan leadership, which was already unsatisfied with Spain's failure to recognize Western Sahara as a Moroccan territory.

The diplomatic conflict reached a boiling point when Morocco relaxed border control around Spain’s African enclave of Ceuta, allowing more than 8,000 migrants to pour into the tiny territory in less than 48 hours.

After Ghali’s testimony, the Spanish court ruled that he should remain free as there is no evidence to support that he was involved in torture or disappearances, according to Spanish media.

“He is still weak but when he’s feeling better, he will decide what he wants to do,” Ghali’s lawyer said.

The judge’s decision could further anger Rabat, which has warned that allowing Ghali to “bypass the Spanish justice system and ignore the victims” would further worsen bilateral ties.

At the same time, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement on Monday that the diplomatic conflict “is not limited to just one man.”

“This issue has revealed Spain’s hostile attitude and harmful strategy around the question of the Moroccan Sahara … How, in this context, could Morocco trust Spain?” the statement said.

“It's incoherent … We can’t fight against separatism in our own countries while fostering it in the country of our neighbor … During the Catalan separatist crisis, Morocco was never neutral and always defended the territorial integrity of Spain,” it continued.

Morocco is calling on Spain to be clear about its position on the independence of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony.

Last year, former US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would recognize Morocco’s control of the mineral-rich region, putting an end to a half-century of American opposition to Rabat’s claim.

The move was in exchange for normalizing Morocco’s relationship with Israel.

Spain has not explicitly stated its position on Western Sahara.​​​​​​​

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