Spain Rejects Asylum for Polisario Sympathizer

Rabat – A Spanish court has rejected granting asylum to a Polisario member, who goes under the name of Carlos Jose.

Spanish media said the man applied for asylum upon his arrival in Spain in June 2024, alleging that his son could not receive treatment for a serious illness in Morocco.

He left Morocco in May 2024 using a false passport, heading to Malaysia, where he stayed ten days, before traveling through the UAE to his destination, Spain, on a flight from Doha.

Infobae reported that the man provided no document showing an “absolute impossibility of receiving treatments in the country or origin” while applying for international protection at Barajas Airport.

Spain’s Interior Ministry initially denied the man’s asylum request before he appealed and requested an urgent precautionary measure to prevent his deportation.

Yet both the Interior Ministry and the Spanish national Court rejected the appeal, noting that the man’s story did not meet the legal criteria required for a refugee status.

“The medical documents submitted regarding his son, who still resides in the Sahara [Moroccan southern provinces- did not demonstrate a condition that could not be treated in Morocco, nor did they justify the need for international protection in Spain,” the same source added.

This is not the first time a supporter, sympathizer, or even senior member of the Polisario has used a fake passport to enter Spanish territory.

Ibrahim Ghali, the actual leader of the separatist group, notably used a fake passport to enter Spanish territory in 2021.

Spain allowed him to enter its territory for hospitalization, a situation that triggered one of the most serious and unprecedented tensions between Rabat and Madrid.

Ghali entered Spain under the name of Mohammed Ben Battouch at the help of former Spanish Foreign Minister Gonzalez Laya, whom Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez later dismissed for failing to maintain good diplomatic ties with Rabat.

Months after diplomatic dialogue, Spain opened a new chapter by declaring the Autonomy Plan as the most serious and credible basis to end the dispute over Western Sahara.

Polisario, backed by Algeria’s regime, claims independence in Western Sahara to challenge Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces.

However, a growing international momentum continues in support of the Moroccan position, with over 120 countries now backing the autonomy initiative as the only or the most realistic pathway to end the conflict. 

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