Washington, DC – Under the watch of a weak Spanish Judiciary, today, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya stand accused of human trafficking and sheltering and abetting a war criminal.
Pedro Sanchez’s government reckless decision allowing Algerian Intelligence officers to smuggle a war criminal into the country has thrust Spain’s fragile judiciary into a political quagmire. As the world awaits the Spanish courts’ decision on whether or not to arrest the Polisario militia chief Brahim Ghali, legal experts are analyzing the role politics could play in this verdict. The Spanish judges famous for their political activism are again under pressure.
Brahim Ghali, who is accused by Moroccan and Spanish rights groups of war crimes, was allowed into Spain with the blessing of the Sanchez government. Obviously, this hostile act angered the Moroccan leaders who asked the Spanish authorities to arrest and judge the secessionist figure wanted in Europe.
Bur since the PM Sanchez allowed Ghali to enter Spain with fake Algerian documents, observers are wondering if Foreign Minister Laya had given assurances to Algeria that her country will not turn their guest over to the Spanish Courts for a trial.
If this is the case, the government of Pedro Sanchez is an accessory to a criminal act. The smuggling of Ghali amounts to state-sponsored human trafficking, a crime under European policies to combat trafficking. As a matter of fact, both the Algerian army and the Spanish government are guilty under European and international law.
If Ghali leaves Spain before a trial because he is holding an Algerian diplomatic passport, potentially giving him immunity, Morocco will likely take the Spanish Government to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg.
The facts are clear: Brahim Ghali is accused of several crimes, including crimes against humanity, torture, terrorism, and rape. Algerian intelligence has smuggled a war criminal to Spain with a fake passport and a false name. The government of Pedro Sanchez knowingly authorized this illegal act and helped to conceal the operation from the judicial authorities.
These actions are blatant violations of EU human rights laws and international law enforcement standards to help apprehend war criminals.
If the Spanish Courts are too impartial to act, European magistrates should step and persecute the four Algerian Generals who directed the smuggling operation and the Spanish officials who enabled human Trafficking and the concealment of a war criminal.
Since Ghali is a flight risk, the investigating judge must request an immediate arrest. However, the Spanish court system under the current government seems to be riddled with cases of illegal political influence and is unlikely to act.
According to the EU Justice Scoreboard publication, Spain is among the four EU countries with the worst perception about judicial independence among its citizens.”
The report published by the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality adds that “The cases of ideological decisions are increasing [in Spain] as, with the new left Governments the judiciary see itself as the only body of resistance to defend traditional values as patriotism, family and religion, even over the constitutional values.”
Morocco has no trust in a Spanish Judicial system known for playing a political role that goes beyond the faithful implementation of the law. Moroccan must take the fight somewhere else in Europe where Judges are fair.
