Spanish authorities have turned down asylum requests from two Sahrawis who arrived in Spain seeking medical treatment. The individuals asserted that they could not receive the necessary treatment in Morocco’s southern cities.
Local media reported that the two individuals in question, hailing from Laayoune, had submitted asylum requests upon their arrival in Madrid through a lawyer who supported their applications with medical reports documenting what she called the “mental and physical disabilities of the applicants.”
However, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior rejected their asylum requests, as Spain’s shift in favor of Morocco’s position on the Sahara has led to a tougher stance on asylum claims from the southern regions.
The same sources indicated that “four young Sahrawis arrived in Spain in recent weeks and submitted asylum requests at Spanish airports,” citing what they called repression they were subjected to in Morocco.
Ramadan Massoud, president of the Sahrawi Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Madrid, said that “the Spanish authorities have recently changed their approach to asylum applications.”
These applications are submitted by “some individuals who call themselves activists and claim to be persecuted in Morocco.”
Massoud emphasized that “there are currently no justifications in Morocco for seeking asylum in another country.”
He pointed out that the Moroccan authorities guarantee all citizens the enjoyment of their rights, which are enshrined in the constitution and in the international covenants and treaties ratified by Morocco.
Massoud told Hespress that “Spain has realized that some people are fabricating human rights files. They are exploiting the status of human rights activists to facilitate their migration and benefit from the privileges associated with refugee status.”
For this reason, he said that Spain has begun to thwart attempts to defraud its justice system and authorities.
Masoud highlighted that the human rights climate in Morocco has improved significantly, noting that “there are people who support the Polisario Front in the southern cities of the kingdom and travel abroad freely without being subjected to any harassment or human rights violations.”
The human rights activist noted that the Polisario, along with some of their affiliated associations in Spain, always try to exploit such situations and play the human rights card to embarrass Spain and the judiciary.
They fabricate false human rights incidents and bring individuals from Morocco’s southern regions to pressure the government in Madrid, he added. However, the Spanish authorities have started shutting the door on these associations and organizations.
