Spain judge upholds genocide charges against Moroccan officials

A Spanish judge Thursday upheld genocide charges against 11 Moroccan ex-officials accused of atrocities in Western Sahara, a court ruling showed -- a penultimate step towards a possible trial.
Judge Pablo Ruz ruled there was a case to answer in court against the 11 ex-security officials and governors. They are accused of ethnically motivated torture, killings and detentions in the former Spanish colony between 1975 and 1991.
Ruz called for the arrest and extradition of seven of the accused and issued a request to the Moroccan courts to find and notify the other four.
The ruling said there were "rational indications of criminality", upholding allegations by state prosecutors who want the 11 brought to trial.
Morocco took control of most of Western Sahara in November 1975 when Spain withdrew and fought a 16-year conflict against the Sahrawi Polisario forces.
Repeated bids by UN mediators to hold a referendum on self-determination for the Sahrawis have since failed.
The judge said his investigation yielded evidence that between 1975 and 1991, "there was a generalised and systematic assault against the Sahrawi civil population by the Moroccan military and police".
"The deeds described in this ruling would constitute a crime of genocide," his ruling said.
Citing testimonies from victims, their families and other witnesses, the ruling details numerous alleged killings and acts of torture by Moroccan forces against civilians in Western Sahara.
Some of the victims still had Spanish national identity cards at the time despite the territory having come under Moroccan control.
The suspects have several days to appeal Thursday's ruling.