Polisario Leader Entered Spain Using Alias on Algerian Passport, Investigation Reveals

The identity document that the Polisario Front leader presented upon his admission to the Logroño hospital is in the name of Mohamed Benbatouche and was issued by Algeria, according to a source close to the case at the Zaragoza investigating court, which is in charge of the investigation into the conditions of Brahim Ghali’s entry into Spain. The agents of the Logroño Provincial Information Brigade attached a copy of Benbatouche’s passport to their investigation report, which Europa Press had access to.

To read: Polisario Leader Brahim Ghali Renewed Spanish ID in 2016, Police Confirm

In this document, they also present the statements, as witnesses, of the director and coordinator of the intensive care unit of the San Pedro hospital where Ghali was treated. The two officials stated that they had received instructions to take care of "a Covid patient coming from abroad", without knowing that it was the leader of the Polisario Front. They only discovered his true identity much later, in the press.

In another report from the National Police General Commissariat for Information dated July 21, it is indicated that several identity documents, including a second passport, were recovered from the Polisario Front leader. After carrying out "all the necessary checks", it appears that Brahim Ghali holds a Sahrawi identity card, an Algerian passport, a Spanish identity card and a Foreigner’s Identification Number (NIE) regularly issued by the Spanish authorities.

To read: Spanish Official Ordered No Checks for Polisario Leader’s Entry, Document Reveals

None of these documents bear the name of Mohamed Benbatouche, the document notes. The Algerian passport mentioned was issued on July 29, 2013 and is in the name of Ghali Sidi Mustafa Sidi Mohamed, a "teacher" born in 1949. "This passport does not serve to establish Algerian nationality and its issuance was simply for identification purposes," the Algerian consulate explained to the investigators.

During his appearance on Monday, October 4 before the Zaragoza court, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, stated that the Algerian authorities had informed her that Ghali held an Algerian diplomatic passport. "Have we done research to find out if this person had entry restrictions in the Schengen area? No, we didn’t," she admitted.