According to various media reports, the Polisario Front leader arrived on 18 April in an Algerian plane without passing border controls or documentation and left on 2 June again without controls

Imputado el jefe de gabinete de la exministra de Exteriores González Laya por la entrada de Brahim Ghali en España

photo_camera PHOTO/AP - Brahim Ghali, secretary general of the Frente Polisario

Rafael Lasala, head of Investigation Court number 7 in Zaragoza, has charged Camilo Villarino, head of the cabinet of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, for the entry into Spain of Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front, and will take his statement on 1 September at the request of Antonio Urdiales, lawyer for the private prosecution.  

Brahim Ghali entered Spanish territory on 18 April in an Algerian plane that arrived at the Zaragoza Air Base without undergoing border controls or documentation checks, as reported by different media. From there he was taken by ambulance to the San Pedro Hospital in Logroño to be treated for a serious respiratory ailment and, according to different reports, he was hospitalised under another identity, in the name of Mohamed Benbatouche.

When Ghali's presence in Spain became known, a diplomatic crisis broke out with Morocco, which requested explanations through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denouncing the lack of collaboration and the absence of information from a neighbouring country considered an ally like Spain. Former Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha González Laya claimed humanitarian reasons for allowing the Polisario Front leader to enter, but this reason did not satisfy the Alaouite kingdom. 

Brahim Ghali, líder del Frente Polisario, habría aceptado comparecer ante la Audiencia Nacional

From that point on, a series of episodes followed that made the situation between Spain and Morocco tense, such as the entry of thousands of irregular immigrants through the Ceuta border or Spain's exclusion from Operation Crossing the Strait, which facilitates the return of Moroccans to their territory to spend the summer season. All of this showed the poor state of Spanish-Moroccan relations. 

Behind all this lies the important issue of Western Sahara, an issue of great importance for Morocco, which understands that Spain does not offer sufficient support for its postulate based on broad autonomy for the Sahrawi region under Moroccan sovereignty. The Kingdom's proposal has received significant international support, including that of Donald Trump's past US administration and that of Joe Biden's current US administration. The Alawi kingdom also received positive signs for its proposal, such as the opening of several Consulates of relevant countries such as the US giant or the United Arab Emirates in strategic enclaves such as Dakhla or Laayoune.

In contrast, the Polisario Front's initiative to hold a referendum on Sahrawi independence has practically no international support, with Algeria standing out in this case. 

La exministra de Asuntos Exteriores de España, Arancha González Laya

With the knowledge of Ghali's presence in Spain, the Audiencia Nacional summoned the head of the Polisario Front to testify, against whom there were a couple of lawsuits for alleged crimes of terrorism and genocide filed by the Sahrawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEDH) and by the Sahrawi activist Fadel Breica. Ghali testified telematically on 1 June, but no precautionary measures were imposed on him and he was able to leave Spain on 2 June, from Pamplona, to travel to Algeria, where he was hospitalised and received a visit from the Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the head of the army, Said Chengriha. Precisely, one of these lawsuits was recently shelved. 

Lawyer Antonio Urdiales is now seeking an explanation of Ghali's entry and exit from Spain and whether there has been a possible crime of concealment or prevarication. Urdiales indicated to the Europa Press news agency that the Polisario Front leader, according to a report by the chief colonel of the Guardia Civil of Navarre, on his departure from Spain allegedly passed through the authorities' lounge at Noain Airport, thus receiving special treatment without controls that did not correspond to him. 

In an order issued by Judge Lasala on 9 August, on 1 September, Lieutenant General and second Chief of the Air Force General Staff, Francisco Javier Fernández Sánchez, was also summoned as a witness. He was not called as an investigative witness because, according to the head of Examining Court number 7, "there is no evidence that he knew that the person arriving in Spain did or did not have a diplomatic passport or was exempt for any reason from passport and customs control".

Unas personas sostienen pancartas mientras protestan contra Brahim Ghali, frente a la Audiencia Nacional en Madrid, España, el 1 de junio de 2021

The head of the office of the president of La Rioja, Eliseo Sastre, will also appear as a witness, pending confirmation of the date. The prosecution has also asked the technical secretary general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, José María Muriel Palomino, to attend the hearing, as reported in the newspaper El Mundo. 

Spain recently sought a political turnaround to redirect diplomatic relations with Morocco, which is why Arancha González Laya was replaced by José Manuel Albares, a former ambassador to Paris who has already shown signs of considering the Alawi kingdom as a neighbouring and friendly country with which it is necessary to cooperate closely. 

Protesta contra Brahim Ghali, frente a la Audiencia Nacional en Madrid, España, el 1 de junio de 2021
Not discharged from hospital

Meanwhile, Brahim Ghali has not been discharged from hospital in Algeria two months after leaving Spain. The judge of the Audiencia Nacional, Santiago Pedraz, expects to close the last details of the remaining lawsuit against the Polisario Front leader in September, while the other magistrate in Zaragoza carries out the aforementioned investigation into the actions of the Spanish Foreign Ministry in relation to his entry into the country. 

Ghali remains in the Central Army Hospital in Ain El Naaja, Algeria, more than two months after leaving Spain. There, he learned of the dismissal of one of the lawsuits that the Central Court of Instruction number 5 of the Audiencia Nacional had kept open. Sources close to him assured El Confidencial Digital that "he is calm" and that he hopes that the same thing will happen in September with the case that is still alive. The head of the Polisario Front, aged 72, intends to return to Western Sahara, as Confidencial Digital reported.

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