ACOM requests Spanish Government transparency on security controls in the granting and review of Spanish nationality

The association Acción y Comunicación sobre Oriente Medio (ACOM) has today filed a formal request for access to public information with the Directorate General for Legal Security and Public Faith, under Transparency Law 19/2013.

The initiative aims to learn about the administrative controls, security reports, review protocols, and possible application of Article 25.2 of the Civil Code in the procedures for granting and subsequent verification of Spanish nationality, especially when there are records, alerts, or official information linked to terrorism, terrorist financing, money laundering, violent radicalization, or risks to national security and public order.

This request responds to recent public reports concerning Saif Abu Keshek / Saif Abukeshek, a Palestinian-Spanish activist detained by Israeli authorities following his participation in the so-called Global Sumud Flotilla bound for Gaza. National and international media outlets, along with official Israeli sources, have reported his alleged links to structures related to Hamas, collaboration with the enemy in wartime, contact with a foreign agent, and transfer of goods to a terrorist organization, as well as prior incidents in third countries.

“The Spanish nationality is not an abstract right, but a juridico-political bond that implies responsibilities and requires rigorous controls. In the face of information of extraordinary gravity affecting a person who holds or may hold Spanish nationality, it is legitimate and necessary for citizens to know whether the Administration applied the required prior security checks and whether, in light of subsequent information, it has activated the verification and review mechanisms provided by law,” declared Mr. Angel Mas, President of ACOM.

The request is strictly limited to administrative and statistical information, without seeking intimate personal data, police records, or the complete nationality file. ACOM requests:

• Confirmation of whether there exists an administrative resolution granting Spanish nationality to the person mentioned and the security controls that were carried out.

• Information on actions taken after the granting of nationality in response to the known public reports.

• A copy of the internal protocols, instructions, and criteria of the Ministry of Justice and its coordination with the Ministry of the Interior and the CNI (National Intelligence Centre) on matters of terrorism and national security.

• Anonymized statistical data from the last ten years on denials and reviews of nationality for security-related reasons.

The association stresses that, should any part of the information be protected, it requests partial access, in anonymized or dissociated form, in accordance with the Transparency Law itself, and that the request be forwarded to the competent bodies (Interior, Foreign Affairs, CNI, or the Public Prosecutor’s Office) if necessary.

ACOM is thus exercising its statutory commitment to the defense of democratic coexistence, the fight against antisemitism, and the monitoring of radicalization phenomena, while guaranteeing full respect for the law and the protection of personal data.

The association trusts that the Directorate General for Legal Security and Public Faith, which is organically dependent on the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, will respond with maximum speed and transparency, thereby helping to strengthen society’s confidence in the control mechanisms for Spanish nationality.