Pedro Sánchez sobre el caso Ghali: “El Gobierno de España hizo lo que debía”
The investigation into the entry of Polisario Front leader Brahim Ghali into Spain continues to move forward. Following the indictment of the former minister Arancha González Laya, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended the position of the Executive from New York after stating that the reception of Ghali responded to humanitarian reasons: "we did what we should have done, to respond to this humanitarian issue, and we did it as we should have done, which was to comply with the law", he added.
"We gave a humanitarian response to a person who was about to die", he continued to defend to journalists. Referring to the investigation, Pedro Sánchez said "we'll see what happens".
With the imputation of the ex-minister Arancha González Laya, already accepted by the investigating judge of the case, Rafael Lasala, the popular accusation has demanded the appearance of the ex-vice-president Carmen Calvo and the head of the Interior Minister's Cabinet, Susana Crisostomo.
The aim of these demands is to identify the specific authority that gave the order for the entry of the Polisario leader into national territory, without being identified with his real papers, as Ghali would have entered with a false identification, so that the leader could enter without arousing suspicion.
However, Ghali's entry was soon discovered, an entry that would also be prohibited according to EU border legislation, which prevents access as a general rule to EU territories without proper authorisation.
In the hospital in Logroño, Ghali also failed to provide his real identity and once he gave his statement before the Audiencia Nacional, he managed to leave the country without providing a passport, according to a document sent to the court.
According to the case file, Lasala suspects that González's former chief of staff, Camilo Villarino, facilitated Ghali's entry without completing the relevant customs formalities. "Whoever has to know already knows", Villarino wrote in a message about Ghali's entry. In addition, in his previous appearance, Villarino stated that Carmen Calvo's chief of staff had called him to confirm the alleged entry.
Ghali's entry into Spain, without prior consultation with Morocco, and his subsequent admission to a hospital in Logroño provoked a diplomatic crisis between the two kingdoms that took months to resolve. With the dismissal of Laya y Calvo from the government, Morocco welcomed the gesture as a step closer to reconciliation. This was evidenced by the King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, in his Throne Day speech, who affirmed his desire to "continue working with the Government of Spain and with its President, His Excellency Mr. Pedro Sánchez".
The Spanish President thanked the monarch for his words and stressed that 'from every crisis also come opportunities, and I believe that this is a great opportunity to redefine these relations, the pillars on which they are based, and in this sense I can only thank and acknowledge the words of the King of Morocco'.
