Spain : Pro-Polisario MEPs oppose expulsion of two Sahrawis to Morocco

The two young Sahrawis, who have applied for asylum in Spain, have received support from a dozen MEPs from Sumar, Bildu (Basque pro-independence), and the Galician National Bloc (BNG). In a letter addressed to the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the MEPs warned of the consequences for the physical integrity of the two individuals if they were deported to Morocco.

«This is tantamount to a death sentence», wrote Antonio Maillo, MEP for the United Left, one of the many components of the far-left Sumar coalition, and a member of Pedro Sanchez's government, on X.

He asked the minister to grant asylum to the two Sahrawis on «humanitarian grounds». The MEPs' letter also reminded the Interior Minister that «several NGOs have denounced human rights violations in the occupied Sahrawi territories».

Last week, a letter from the Minister for Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego, of the United Left, to her Interior colleague, Marlaska (of the PSOE), froze the expulsion order for the young Youssef El Mahmoudi, who presents himself as «a Sahrawi activist». Since then, he has no longer been detained at Bilbao airport.