Polisario chief Brahim Ghali, suffering from serious respiratory problems, was urgently flown to Spain, where he was admitted to hospital under a false Algerian identity for fear of being caught by the Iberian justice on charges of human rights violations.
After arduous negotiations with Madrid, the Algerian authorities obtained a promise from Pedro Sanchez that the leader of the separatist group would not be prosecuted by the National Audience, one of Spain’s highest courts. And it was with an Algerian diplomatic passport under the name of Mohamed Benbatouche that Brahim Ghali entered Spain on April 21.
The hospitalization of Brahim Ghali has been confirmed by several media, including AP Agency and the Spanish El Noticiario website.
Before the head of the Polisario’s hospitalization in Logroño, a city in northern Spain under a false identity, Algiers had tried to transfer Brahim Ghali to Germany, “who would have refused to welcome him”, according to the magazine Young Africa.
This Thursday, Polisario websites quickly denied that the leader of the separatist movement has cancer, claiming he was only tested positive to Covid-19.
In any case, Brahim Ghali had been sick for several weeks and had been hospitalized in Tindouf, Algeria, where the army chief of staff, General Saïd Chengriha, went to his bedside and ordered his transfer abroad after his health condition deteriorated.