Pedophile’s pardon embarrasses Spain, Morocco
MADRID - Spain had a seemingly simple request for Morocco's king: Pardon 18 Spaniards convicted in his country, and let 30 others return to Spain to serve out their prison terms. Instead, the monarch pardoned 48 Spanish prisoners, including a man convicted of raping children.
The apparent bureaucratic mix-up has embarrassed both nations, prompting rare protests in Morocco and an ultimately successful scramble to find the freed pedophile. It has also raised legal questions about the fate of the other 29 Spaniards believed incorrectly pardoned.
Police captured 63-year-old convicted pedophile Daniel Galvan Vina in southeastern Spain on Monday after he had nearly a week of freedom. Galvan had been convicted of raping 11 children and was serving a 30year sentence in Morocco before the pardon came through.
Morocco's King Mohammed VI retracted his pardon of Galvan over the weekend, and Morocco, via Interpol, issued an international arrest warrant for him. Because Spain does not extradite its citizens to Morocco, Galvan will likely finish his term in a Spanish prison.
A Spanish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said some of the 48 are believed to be back in Spain and others are still in Morocco. Most were reportedly serving time for drug-related offenses, and there was no word from Morocco that any more pardons would be rescinded.
The requests for pardons and prison transfers came during Spanish King Juan Carlos's four-day official visit to Morocco last month, and Morocco's consent was viewed as a gesture that would benefit bilateral relations.(