A Spanish high court has served Western Sahara independence leader Brahim Ghali with a June 1 summons for a preliminary hearing in a war crimes case against him.
The summons is the first step toward a potential trial of the Polisario Front leader, whose admittance to a Spanish hospital for treatment last month has angered Morocco.
Ghali declined to sign the summons which means he’s likely not to attend as he might be holding an Algerian diplomatic passport, potentially giving him immunity.
Sovereignty over Western Sahara is contested between Morocco and the Polisario Front and its legal status remains unresolved. The disputed territory has been held by Morocco since the mid-1970s, which the Algeria-backed Polisario Front has been fighting to secure independence for since then.
Prior to that it was under Spanish control. Spain agreed to allow Ghali’s hospitalisation in Logrono, northern Spain, as a “humanitarian gesture”.
Ghali and other leaders of the group are accused by human rights groups and Western Sahara individuals of genocide, murder, terrorism, torture and disappearances, the document said.
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