Polisario accuses Spain of using Moroccan interpreters to block asylum claims

The Polisario has accused Moroccan interpreters working on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior of failing to accurately convey testimonies of asylum seekers of Saharan origin. Spanish media and radical left political players allege that these interpreters omit mentions of «statements of torture and human rights violations committed by the Moroccan authorities». They believe this «bad» translation directly contributes to the rejection of asylum applications from individuals who identify as «Polisario activists».

«The Ministry of the Interior rejected for the second time the request for international protection of Mohamed Bachir, a young Sahrawi detained at Madrid Barajas airport, after the department headed by Fernando Grande-Marlaska appointed him a Moroccan translator and the applicant pointed out that the interpreter had changed his testimony», reports El Independiente.

However, the applicant holds Mauritanian nationality, not Moroccan, like thousands of others residing in the Tindouf camps. In July 2024, Spain expelled Mourad Mustapha Bar, a 25-year-old Mauritanian national, despite his claims of belonging to the Polisario, according to the same newspaper. This case was largely ignored by radical left political players, who had previously campaigned for Youssef El Mahmoudi, a Saharawi holding Moroccan nationality. Their efforts culminated in the suspension of El Mahmoudi's expulsion order from Spanish soil, issued a few days earlier by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.

In parallel with the criticism of Moroccan interpreters, deputies from the far-left Sumar coalition, a component of the government presided over by Pedro Sanchez, sent a written question to the government on the subject. In their text, they denounced «the appointment by the Ministry of the Interior of a Moroccan translator who speaks a different dialect from that spoken by another Saharawi refugee».

Last week, a Saharawi refugee refused the presence of a Moroccan interpreter when his application was examined by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.