Western Sahara independence chief testifies in Spain

The leader of a movement seeking independence from Morocco has testified in a Spanish investigation into allegations against him of torture, genocide and other crimes.

Brahim Ghali appeared Tuesday before an investigating magistrate in Madrid.

He testified via videoconference from a hospital in a northern Spanish city where he was hospitalized last month after falling ill with COVID-19.

Ghali heads the Polisario Front and the self-declared Sahrawi Democratic Arab Republic, based in refugee camps in western Algeria. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in the 1970s, and the Polisario Front has long wanted to end Moroccan rule over Western Sahara.

Ghali checked into the Spanish hospital under a false identity after arriving in the country by plane with an Algerian diplomatic passport and with the consent of the Spanish government.

His presence in Spain has infuriated Morocco and triggered a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, which have been cooperating in fighting terrorism, drug smuggling and migration into Europe.

Ghali's lawyer said his client denied the charges, which he attributed to Moroccan efforts to discredit the Polisario Front.

The magistrate may place conditions on Ghali's remaining free.