ASADEDH recurre ante el Tribunal Supremo el archivo de la querella contra Brahim Ghali por genocidio

The Saharawi Association for the Defence of Human Rights (ASADEDH) presented this Friday an appeal to the Supreme Court after the Criminal Chamber of the National High Court decreed the dismissal of the complaint against Brahim Ghali, leader of the Polisario Front, for the alleged crime of genocide, as reported by the agency Europa Press. 

According to Europa Press, ASADEDH issued an official statement in which it shows its confidence in the Spanish justice system to prosecute the alleged crime of genocide carried out in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, which the organisation itself denounces. 

The Criminal Chamber of the National High Court rejected the appeal filed by ASADEDH urging the National High Court to prosecute Brahim Ghali for the alleged crime of genocide committed between 1975 and 1991 against Sahrawi refugees in the Tindouf camps. 

The judges of the Audiencia Nacional decided last Thursday to dismiss the case against Brahim Ghali "because the facts of the case do not constitute a crime of genocide and because of the extinction of criminal responsibility due to the statute of limitations of the crimes investigated", as reported by the Europa Press agency. 

The Audiencia Nacional argued that Ghali and the victims share Sahrawi nationality, so that "the criterion of nationality is not useful to estimate the concurrence of the objective element of the crime of genocide", as the official note to which Europa Press made reference pointed out. 

Therefore, ASADEDH continues with its intention to bring Brahim Ghali to trial for an alleged crime against the Sahrawi refugees in Tindouf, and the case continues to generate controversy. 

The figure of the Polisario Front leader continues to be controversial because of this issue and also because of the diplomatic conflict that broke out between Spain and Morocco over his presence in Spain last year to be treated for a severe respiratory ailment in a hospital in Logroño. 

The Alawi kingdom asked the Spanish government for explanations for not having been properly informed of Ghali's entry into Spanish territory, especially considering that both countries consider themselves neighbours and allies. Pedro Sánchez's government argued humanitarian reasons for treating Brahim Ghali in hospital, but this did not convince the North African country, which criticised Spain's position. 

After this event, several episodes followed that further strained relations between the two nations, such as the irregular entry of thousands of Moroccan immigrants through the Ceuta border or the withdrawal of the Moroccan ambassador in Madrid. 

Underlying all this is the fact that Morocco has long been demanding a clearer position from Spain on the Western Sahara issue. The Alawite kingdom is proposing a formula of broad autonomy for the Sahrawi territory under Moroccan sovereignty in order to solve a problem that has lasted for decades. The North African country's initiative is supported by important nations such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. 

The Polisario Front's initiative, which advocates holding a referendum on independence for the Sahrawi people, has little international support, with the support of Algeria, Morocco's great political rival in North Africa, which recently broke off diplomatic relations with the Alaouite kingdom, standing out in this case. 

ASADEDH now wants to reactivate the legal case against Brahim Ghali, a political figure who has been controversial in the diplomatic relationship between Morocco and Spain, which is now being revived thanks to the recent statements of rapprochement made by the new Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, and King Felipe VI himself.