Spanish Court Drops Genocide Case Against Polisario Front Leader

Polisario Front Leader Brahim Ghali. AFP file photo
Polisario Front Leader Brahim Ghali. AFP file photo
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Spanish Court Drops Genocide Case Against Polisario Front Leader

Polisario Front Leader Brahim Ghali. AFP file photo
Polisario Front Leader Brahim Ghali. AFP file photo

Spain's High Court on Thursday dropped an investigation into war crimes and genocide against Brahim Ghali, whose hospitalization in Spain caused a diplomatic row with Morocco.

Ghali and other Polisario Front leaders were accused by human rights groups and Western Sahara individuals of genocide, murder, terrorism, torture and disappearances, a court document said, according to Reuters.

Ghali had appeared remotely in a court hearing last month as part of the investigation. His lawyer said he denied any wrongdoing.

The High Court ruled that most of alleged facts brought against Ghali were covered by status of limitation. It said there was not enough evidence to support the accusations of genocide.

The admission of Ghali for medical treatment in a Spanish hospital in the northern city of Logrono in April without warning Morocco sparked an acrimonious dispute between the two countries.



Iran Rejects Accusations it Interfered in Syria

Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Iran Rejects Accusations it Interfered in Syria

Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Women smoke a water pipe as they sit on a lookout area at the mount Qasioun in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Iran's foreign ministry on Thursday expressed “concern” over “the spread of chaos and violence” in Syria and rejected accusations that Tehran interfered in Syria, after the new Syrian foreign minister told Tehran not to spread chaos in his country.
"We reject the baseless accusations by some media ... against Iran over interfering in Syria's internal affairs," Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by state media.
"It is necessary to prevent the spread of insecurity and violence ... and ensure the security of Syrian citizens," he added.

Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria's sovereignty and security.

"We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks," he said.

On Sunday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity.”

Khamenei forecast "that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose,” calling the country unsafe.

The former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohsen Rezaee, said that the Syrian people “will not remain silent in the face of foreign occupation and aggression” or “the tyranny of an internal group.”

He added: "They will revive the resistance in Syria in a new form in less than a year."

"They will fail the malicious and deceptive plan led by America, the Zionist entity, and the regional countries that have been manipulated,” he added.