Man awaiting trial included on bungled Morocco pardon list

More surprising details about the wave of pardons for Spanish citizens granted last week by King Mohammed VI of Morocco continue to emerge. The latest concerns the case of a man who was awaiting trial in protective custody when he was granted his freedom along with 47 other inmates.

The royal emancipation of Mounir Molina Mohammed even surprised the judge in Alhucemas, who was waiting for the defendant to appear in court on Thursday. The prosecutor in the case told the magistrate that Molina Mohammed — a Spanish-Moroccan national — was included in the pardon list despite the fact he had not been convicted of any crime.

This startling revelation has added more mystery regarding the vetting process used by Spanish and Moroccan officials over the lists of inmates who were mistakenly pardoned by King Mohammed VI. Spanish authorities this week arrested Daniel Galván Viña, a 63-year-old convicted pedophile who was also erroneously granted a release by the Moroccan monarch. The king revoked his pardon after violent protests erupted in cities in Morocco over the action.

Mounir Molina was arrested in June on drug-trafficking charges. He was included in the list of pardons by officials at the Spanish Consulate in Nador after they determined he didn’t qualify to be transferred to serve out his prison term in Spain because he hadn’t been sentenced.

The two lists — one containing petitions for pardons, the other requests for prison transfers — were mistakenly merged by Moroccan palace officials, resulting in a total of 48 pardons.