Polisario Leader Brahim Ghali Testifies in Spanish Court on Human Rights Charges

The head of the separatists will have to be "located at a residence and reachable on a telephone number". This is the decision taken by the investigating judge Santiago Pedraz Gomez. He also rejected, for the second time, the precautionary measures requested by the prosecution, namely the withdrawal of the Polisario leader’s passport, his placement in pre-trial detention, etc.

In a statement to the press, Brahim Ghali’s lawyer, Manuel Ollé, announced that he would file a request to dismiss all the "unfounded complaints" against the head of the separatists. The latter is the subject of several complaints. A complaint filed by El Fadel Breika, a dissident of the naturalized Spanish front for "kidnapping, arbitrary detention and torture" in the Tindouf prisons; one filed by ASADEH and another filed by the Canarian association of victims of terrorism for "genocide, torture, sequestrations, rape, kidnappings, disappearances".

The Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, reacted early this Tuesday to the hearing of the "President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR)". It is important to "respect the decision of the judge who is investigating the Brahim Ghali case," he said, calling for "letting diplomacy work calmly to resolve the crisis opened with Morocco".

The emergency admission of the leader of the independence movement to a hospital in Logroño on April 18 has caused new tensions between Spain and Morocco. Tensions that have remained strong following the massive arrival of 8,000 migrants - including 2,000 minors - in Ceuta. Morocco maintains pressure on Spain for Brahim Ghali to answer for his actions before the Spanish justice system. Madrid links the bilateral crisis to the migration issue.