Spanish Ex-Foreign Minister Testifies Over Separatist Leader's Stay In Country

Former Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya testified in court on Monday as to how Western Sahara's independence leader, Brahim Ghali, entered Spain for medical treatment

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2021) Former Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya testified in court on Monday as to how Western Sahara's independence leader, Brahim Ghali, entered Spain for medical treatment.

The leader of the separatist Popular Front for the Liberation of Western Sahara (Polisario Front), who is considered a war criminal in Morocco, was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in the Spanish city of Logrono from April to June. Laya and a number of other high-ranking officials are accused of withholding information and providing false information on Ghali's trip to Spain.

During the hearing, Laya told the Investigative Court of Zaragoza that the decision to host Ghali in the country complied with the law.

"He arrived, from my point of view, in accordance with the law, and I hope that soon the judge will come to the same conclusion," she said.

The process was launched by the former head of the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Camilo Villarino, who claimed that Laya had given instructions not to report Ghali's arrival to Spain due to the possible implications for the country's international relations with other states.

Laya was removed from office in July during a large-scale cabinet reshuffle.

Ghali's presence in Spain caused a major diplomatic crisis between Madrid and Rabat. In mid-May, the Moroccan authorities allowed around 10,000 illegal immigrants to freely cross the Morocco-Spanish border in the Ceuta enclave, in what was widely interpreted as an attempt to put pressure on Spain over the separatist leader.