La Audiencia de Zaragoza desestima la petición de la Fiscalía de derivar a Logroño la causa contra Brahim Ghali

The Provincial Court of Zaragoza has rejected the request of the Prosecutor's Office to send the case of Brahim Ghali to a court in Logroño at a time when the case focuses on the alleged forgery of the Polisario Front leader's passport and not on his entry into Spanish territory through the Zaragoza Air Base without passing an identification document or border control, as reported by the Europa Press agency.  

Brahim Ghali entered Spain to be treated for a major respiratory condition in a hospital in Logroño in April 2021 and this situation unleashed a major diplomatic conflict with Morocco, as the Moroccan kingdom denounced the lack of cooperation and information from the Spanish country, considered an ally and friend.  

Europa Press pointed out that in the judges' order, they have supported the decision of the head of Zaragoza Magistrate's Court Number 7 to keep the investigation and have rejected the argument of the Public Prosecutor's Office that the magistrate Rafael Lasala was not competent to handle the case because he was only considering an alleged offence of false documentation.  

This comes after the Zaragoza court decided to provisionally close the investigation into the case until it receives the rogatory commission sent to Algeria to clarify where Ghali's passport came from or until the State Security Forces and Corps find Brahim Ghali's son, who was summoned as the main suspect in the case for an alleged offence of false documentation.  

The Zaragoza Court of Appeal thus supports Judge Lasala, who opposed the intention of the Public Prosecutor's Office, understanding that "the nest of ambiguities and ignorance that this case has become makes it inadvisable to inhibit him", as Europa Press reported. The examining magistrate considered that sending the case to a court in Logroño would be "risky". The Public Prosecutor's Office asked the judge to remove himself from the case and transfer the proceedings to a court in Logroño in order to investigate Ghali's passport used to enter Spain and enter the hospital in Logroño where he was treated from Algeria, which sent him to Spanish territory in a medicalised plane. Precisely, Brahim Ghali travelled directly back to the Algerian country after leaving the hospital and was admitted there again, receiving the visit of the Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the head of the army, Said Chengriha.  

The case has been closed pending Algeria's reply on the origin of the passport and the State Security Forces and Bodies' search for the whereabouts of Brahim Ghali's son. Precisely, an order by Judge Lasala summoned Luali Brahim to appear before the court in Zaragoza, on suspicion of falsification of documents, and he is now being sought by the police forces.  

While the course of the court case continues, the diplomatic crisis between Spain and Morocco was closed after several tense episodes thanks to the Spanish government's move to recognise the Moroccan proposal on Western Sahara as the "most credible, serious and realistic" way to end the Saharawi conflict. A diplomatic move that led to the normalisation of relations, the establishment of a common roadmap to develop the bilateral relationship and the latest High Level Meeting aimed at deepening the mutual bond between the two nations.