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Rabat – The High Court of Zaragoza acquitted on May 27 former Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya over charges of mishandling the admission of Brahim Ghali for medical treatment in Spain.
Gonzalez had been facing a lawsuit after she decided to allow Polisario leader Ghali access to Spanish territory for hospitalization in April 2021.
“There is no indication to support the conclusion that [the former FM] was aware of the existence of a legal interest in this person,” the court said.
Gonzalez welcomed the court’s decision in an interview with Cadena Ser, saying she “would welcome back” Ghali, if “necessary for humanitarian reasons.”
The court’s decision came despite reports and complaints, linking Ghali and the Polisario Front with several serious charges, including war crimes, rape, assaults, detention, among other forms of crimes.
The Canarian Association of Victims of Terrorism (ACAVITE), repeatedly condemned the separatist group’s documented killings of hundreds of Spaniards during terror attacks against Spanish fishing vessels in the southern provinces of Morocco in the 1970s and 1980s
Sahrawi refugee and activist Khadijatou Mahmoud continues to seek justice against Ghali, who she accuses of rape and sexual assault
In a recent interview earlier this year, the Sahrawi activist who lives in Spain condemned the lack of actions from Spain’s judiciary. The activist accused Ghali of raping her in 2010 at the “embassy” of the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Algiers, where he served as an “ambassador.”
Several other people resubmitted their lawsuit to Spain’s judiciary to seek justice following Ghali’s admission into Spain.
Amid ongoing lawsuits and severe backlash from Morocco, Spain allowed Ghali to leave Spain in June 2021.
Ghali’s entry to Spanish territory resulted in a deep diplomatic feud between Morocco and Spain.
The diplomatic crisis lasted until March 2022, when Spain and Morocco announced the restoration of diplomatic relations after Pedro Sanchez’s government endorsed Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.
Read also: Polisario’s Brahim Ghali Threatens Spain Over New Western Sahara Position
