Spain's «Patriotic Police» has reportedly spied on Moroccan diplomats accredited in the European country. The kingdom's former consul in Barcelona, Ghoulam Maichane, currently Morocco's ambassador to Guinea, is among those targeted, reveals a Catalan media outlet. The security forces suspected Moroccan officials of supporting pro-independence forces in Catalonia. The kingdom's consul in the regional capital was spied on between 2014 and 2016. In May 2013, Spain expelled Moroccan national Noureddine Ziani, who was residing in Catalonia at the time, on the orders of its counter-espionage services for alleged links with pro-independence groups in the region. This espionage operation took place under the right-wing government led by former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of the People's Party, adds the same source. Spanish prosecutors have launched an investigation into these abuses, which are not limited to Morocco. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has ordered Interior Minister Fernando-Grande Marlaska to shed full light on the illegal actions of these security forces in Catalonia.
