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Spanish judge to extend prosecution against senior Moroccan military officials for crimes in Western Sahara

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Madrid, Feb 11, 2014 (SPS) - Judge Pablo Rafael Ruz Guitierrez of the Spanish Supreme Court intends to extend prosecution against senior Moroccan military officials involved in the death of Saharawi citizens in 1976.


The lawsuit was brought by Domingo José Collado Molinero representing the Spanish Association of Human Rights, in which he included the results of the investigation into the responsibility of Moroccans in the execution of 8 Saharawis, discovered last year in mass graves in Fedrat Lagueaa in Western Sahara.


According to the document, a copy of it reached SPS, the judge will submit this lawsuit on February 12th, 2014.


The judge asked the two researchers; Etxeberria Francisco and Carlos Martin Beristain, scientists at the University of the Basque Country who located the two mass graves in Western Sahara, to present all the photographic equipment, documents and genetic analyzes used in this investigation.


The judge had already initiated action against Moroccan military officials involved in torture, kidnapping and assassination against the Saharawis.


Many international and Saharawi organizations of human rights have condemned such crimes against the Saharawi people, calling on the international community to probe and prosecute the perpetrators. (SPS)


090/089/TRA