Handout
photo released by Moroccan Press Agency shows King
Mohammed VI on July 30, 2013
in Casablanca (Moroccan Press
Agency/AFP/File)
|
RABAT —
King Mohamed VI of Morocco on Sunday revoked a pardon granted to a Spanish
serial paedophile 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", said the text of the statement, published by the official MAP news
agency.
It 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 the country, the 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 on Friday.
Sit-ins
planned for Casablanca on Tuesday and Rabat on Wednesday were planned to still
go ahead.
Vina, said
to be in his 60s, was pardoned by the king and freed last Tuesday from jail in
Kenitra, north of the capital. 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, the justice ministry said.
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 statement said.
"The
king was never informed -- in any way or at any time -- of the seriousness of
the abject crimes of which the person concerned was convicted," the palace
added.
"It is
clear that the sovereign would never have consented" to his release, given
the "monstrous crimes" he committed, the statement concluded.
The pardon
sparked outrage in the north African country, which has seen several
high-profile paedophile 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 paedophile after local residents overheard
screams from a six-year-old girl he allegedly abducted.
And in May,
a Casablanca court jailed a 60-year-old Frenchman for 12 years after convicting
him of paedophilia.
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.