Riyadh has received a flat refusal from Spain after a court refused on Monday to extradite a child rapist who was re-arrested in Spain having been controversially pardoned by the king of Morocco.
Daniel Galván Viña, 63, was among 48 Spanish prisoners pardoned by King Mohammed VI and freed from jail following a visit to Morocco by Spain’s King Juan Carlos in July. Mohammed revoked the pardon in August after violent protests in Morocco over Galván’s release, with officials saying it had been a mistake. In the meantime, Galván had returned to Spain, where he was re-arrested.
King Mohammed VI said the “exceptional reversal” was made “considering the flaws that marred the process, the gravity of the crimes committed and with respect to the rights of the victims.” The King said he would not have pardoned the Spaniard if he had been aware of his crimes and subsequently ordered an investigation into the pardons process. Galván, who had also resided in Britain, had raped at least 11 children aged from 3 to 15.
The National Court in Madrid ruled on Monday (November 18) that the existing treaties between Spain and Morocco did not allow for one of the countries to extradite its own nationals to the other. There were therefore “no grounds to hand the Spanish national Daniel Galván Viña to Morocco under the international arrest warrant” issued by a Moroccan judge on August 5, it said. It ruled that he should serve his 30-year sentence in prison in Spain.
Galván was born in Iraq but acquired Spanish citizenship after he married a Spanish woman whom he has since divorced.
