Spain upholds refugee status for African opposition leader

MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- Spain's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a request to grant political refugee status to Equatorial Guinea opposition leader Severo Moto.

Moto, 64, has been living in exile in Spain and has had refugee status since the Spanish government granted it in 1986. But the government revoked the status in January 2006, leading Moto to launch a series of appeals which ultimately took him to the Supreme Court.

A statement from the court Wednesday said judges upheld Moto's request for political refugee status and rejected government arguments against it.

The U.S. State Department says courts in Equatorial Guinea courts have convicted Moto several times in absentia for attempting to overthrow the government.

Moto leads a banned opposition party called the Progress Party of Equatorial Guinea, according to Amnesty International, which has monitored his trials at home and has called them unfair. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Al Goodman contributed to this report.

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