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The Spanish Civil Guard will begin an investigation into the means Polisario’s Brahim Ghali used to illegally enter Spain, after a judge in Zaragoza gave the agency five days to review the situation.
After widespread criticism of the Spanish government for allowing the Polisario leader to enter and remain in Spain with fake documents, the Civil Guard are being tasked to shed more light on the case.
Judge Rafael Lasala, head of the 7th Court of Instruction of Zaragoza, started the proceedings after a complaint was filed by attorney Antonio Urdiales for charges of “falsification or use of a false passport, prevarication and concealment,” reports La Razon.
The charges were officially filed against Ghali, as well as the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the border officials that were assigned to the airport in Zaragoza where Ghali initially landed.
The complaint alleges Ghali was allowed to land in “the military zone of the airport,” and the border control unit did not subject him to lawful screenings upon entry into the country. After landing in Spain, Ghali was allowed to freely move through the country under a fake identity for over two months.
In addition to investigating Ghali, the judge also ordered the Civil Guard to provide the full names of all the other people onboard Ghali’s plane when it landed, in order to get a detailed assessment of the situation.
Urdiales maintains that if Ghali was permitted to enter Zaragoza by a Border agent that had prior knowledge of the criminal accusations against him, it was within the jurisdiction of the Zaragoza magistrate to investigate the matter, and not the Spanish High Court. The investigation coincides with a similar one that was also opened up against Ghali in Logrono, the city where the Polisario chief was hospitalized.
This turn of events comes after Judge Pedraz of the National Court refused to prosecute Ghali for the false documents, determining that it was not within his court’s legal jurisdiction to do so. After Ghali entered Spain, he assumed the pseudonym Mohamed Benbatouche and travelled with two accomplices who have not been identified.
Attorney Urdiales maintains that since it is “unlikely” that a visa would have been granted by the Spanish Consul if Ghali’s real identity was known at the time, his admittance “had to be carried out in a criminal way.” It is unclear exactly what potential ramifications could befall Ghali now that he has successfully exited Spain, but perhaps more light could be shed on the Spanish authorities that were complicit in allowing such a controversial figure to enter and exit Spain under such shady circumstances.
