Morocco King revokes Spanish pedophile pardon
Print Edition
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has revoked a pardon granted to a Spanish serial pedophile whose release sparked angry protests in the kingdom, a palace statement said.
The king “has decided to withdraw the pardon previously accorded to Daniel Galvan Vina,” a palace statement said on Sunday.
The statement said the “exceptional” decision was taken because of the “gravity of the crimes committed and out of respect for the victims’ rights.”
Although several media reports have said Vina has left Morocco, the official MAP news agency said the justice minister would discuss with Madrid “the next step after the pardon’s revocation.”
The king’s announcement came shortly before a large demonstration was due to take place against the pardon, after baton-wielding police dispersed demonstrations last Friday.
Sit-ins planned for Casablanca today and Rabat tomorrow were planned to still go ahead.
Vina, in his 60s, was pardoned by the king and freed last Tuesday from jail in Kenitra. He had been sentenced in September 2011 to 30 years in prison.
Vina, convicted of raping 11 children aged between four and 15, was among 48 Spanish prisoners released in response to a request from Spanish King Juan Carlos, who visited Morocco in mid-July.
Earlier, the palace said in a statement carried on MAP that the king had been unaware of the nature of the man’s crimes and had ordered a probe into his release. The investigation should “determine the responsibilities and the failures that led to this regrettable release.”
“The king was never informed of the seriousness of the abject crimes of which the person concerned was convicted,” the palace said. “It is clear that the sovereign would never have consented” to his release, given the “monstrous crimes” he committed.
The pardon sparked outrage in the country, which has seen several high-profile pedophile arrests in recent months. Protesters slammed the pardon as “an international shame” with one demonstrator saying the state “defends the rape of Moroccan children.”
On June 20, police arrested a suspected British pedophile after local residents overheard screams from a six-year-old girl he allegedly abducted. And in May, a 60-year-old Frenchman was jailed for 12 years after convicting him of pedophilia.
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