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Denver- Spanish Interior Ministry officials continue to dodge investigations of government involvement in the Ghali scandal.
Exactly three months after Brahim Ghali was allowed to leave Spain after a controversial hearing in a Spanish court, investigators are still being left in the dark as to Madrid’s cooperation and knowledge of Brahim’s suspicious entry into Spanish territory.
The Polisario leader spent nearly two months in a hospital in Spain being treated for COVID-19. Despite petitions from Morocco and several NGO groups that Ghali be prosecuted by Spanish authorities for alleged war crimes, Spain allowed Ghali to leave in early June after a judge declared accusers had a “lack of evidence” against him. It was later discovered that Ghali used a falsified identification during his time in Spain, a clear violation of Spanish law.
Since the controversial affair, media groups and legal experts in both Spain and Morocco continue to ask the Spanish government to fully disclose the nature of Ghali’s acceptance into Spanish territory and how he was able to stay in the country with a falsified passport.
Accusers continue to assert Madrid’s complicity in allowing Ghali’s illegal behavior in Spain and are demanding answers from Spanish authorities. However, Interior Ministry officials have blocked two attempts to launch requests on the government’s transparency portal to ascertain more information into the matter.
Interior Ministry officials cited powers granted by the Spanish “Official Secrets Law” to deny both requests. The Official Secrets Law dates back to 1968, and considers any deployment of the “deployment of units” and the “the structure, organization, means and specific operating procedures of the information services” as confidential.
Investigative groups pressed the Spanish government to disclose information on the cost of admitting and sheltering Ghali, in addition to the number of National Police and Civil Guard units involved in the operation.
Many in the region were outraged at the Spanish refusal to prosecute Ghali for decades-long accusations of torture in Western Sahara. The ensuing political conflict between Rabat and Madrid resulted in an effective cessation of diplomatic communication between the two governments.
Since the scandal, Madrid has attempted to reconcile with Morocco several times, in an attempt to return to normalcy. Morocco’s King Mohammed VI made similar conciliatory remarks in his recent speech to mark Revolution Day.
However, with the continued efforts of Spanish officials to avoid full disclosure of their involvement with Ghali, the likelihood Morocco’s government will completely forgive and forget the political slight anytime soon remains low.
