Lucía Jiménez, a Spanish journalist and human rights activist who spent decades campaigning for recognition of Canary Islands victims of terrorist attacks by the Polisario Front, died suddenly at the age of 60 from a heart attack in Málaga.
Jiménez’s name became synonymous with efforts to give voice to civilians targeted during terrorist attacks against civilians by the Algeria-backed Polisario militias in mid-1970s.
Her activism was deeply personal: her father was killed in an armed attack by Polisario militants against Canary Island fishermen operating near the Sahara coasts. That tragedy marked a turning point in her life, transforming grief into a lifelong mission for justice.
In the late 1980s, Jiménez founded and chaired the Canarian Association of Victims of Polisario Terrorism, a platform that evolved into a legal and advocacy hub.
Under her leadership, the group reopened forgotten cases of attacks on fishermen and other civilians, pressing Spanish and European institutions to acknowledge these crimes and hold perpetrators accountable.
Jiménez’s efforts resonated beyond Spain. She became a familiar figure in diplomatic circles in Madrid and Brussels, where she successfully pushed for the inclusion of victims of the Polisario in European debates on terrorism and historical memory.
Her advocacy often drew sharp criticism from Polisario supporters, but she remained steadfast, arguing that “justice for victims is not negotiable.”
The Polisario has long adopted terrorist tactics and has a blatant record of targeting civilians in Morocco and seeking a safe hideout in Algiers.
Its ties to terrorist groups in the Sahel and to Iran-backed militias earned a notoriety as a source of instability in North Africa.
US Representative Joe Wilson has introduced earlier this year bipartisan legislation in Congress- titled the “Polisario Front Terrorist Designation Act”- urging the US government to list the Polisario as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, citing its ties to Iran and its proxies such as Hezbollah.
