Daniel Galván scandal

The Daniel Galván scandal (also known as Danielgate, in Arabic: فضيحة دانيال گالڤان, romanized: Faḍīḥat Dānyāl Gālvān) was a political scandal in which Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco, issued a pardon for a Spanish convicted serial child-rapist named Daniel Galván. The Spanish citizen was serving a 30 years prison sentence. He was arrested in Morocco in late 2011, for having raped at least 11 Moroccan children in Kenitra—a city he had been living in since 2004. The pardon came some 18 months after his incarceration as part of a diplomatic gesture from Mohammed VI to Spain, on the occasion of the 14th anniversary of his enthronement. The pardon sparked unprecedented popular outrage in Morocco where several protests were held denouncing the monarch's decision. This prompted Mohammed VI to first issue a communiqué in which he denied being "aware of the gravity of the crimes committed by Daniel Galvan", then to "cancel" his pardon but only after the Spanish citizen had already left the country several days before on an expired passport—with the knowledge of Moroccan authorities. It was revealed later that this was not the first time Mohammed VI had pardoned a convicted foreign paedophile, having pardoned Hervé Le Gloannec, a French citizen convicted of child rape and child pornography in 2006.

It was later revealed that Daniel Galvan did not apply for a pardon and only requested to be transferred to a prison in Spain. El Pais wrote that the royal cabinet in an effort to please Spain, sought to accelerate the normal process of prison transfer—which could take up to two years—and accorded the unwarranted pardon for the convicted pedophile.