Spain: Supreme Court rejects custody request for Polisario leader

The Spanish lawyer representing the leader of Western Sahara’s Polisario Front has announced that he will ask the Supreme Court to drop the war crimes charges against his client. Manuel Ole is acting for Brahim Ghali, who has been hospitalised in Spain and appeared before the court on video link.

According to Ole, the allegations are politically motivated. The Polisario leader faces a lawsuit in Spain for alleged war crimes against Sahrawi dissidents. Ghali denies all of the charges against him.

“The facts which form the basis of the accusation against [Ghali] are absolutely and categorically false,” said Ole after a court hearing on Tuesday when the court turned down the prosecution request for Ghali to be held in custody. The plaintiffs in the war crime case have not provided evidence showing the Polisario leader’s responsibility, the court ruled.

Ghali’s presence in Spain has sparked a heated dispute between Spain and Morocco.

READ: Spain to snub Moroccan army manoeuvres because of Western Sahara