On Friday, the Spanish National Court refused to extradite a person wanted by Moroccan justice for 13 years, on charges of “human trafficking and managing an illegal immigration network.”
According to media reports “Y.S” is one of the most wanted fugitive of Morocco for his “activity in the field of irregular migration of migrants coming from sub-Saharan African countries since 2009.”
The Criminal Chamber of the National Court in Madrid refused to hand over the detainee due to the lack of an “assessment document,” which should have been handed over to the Moroccan judicial authorities and explaining the proportionality between the accusations that require the extradition of a person and the motives for depriving him of his freedom, which the Spanish court considers mandatory.
The Madrid Court’s decision comes after the Spanish Public Prosecutor had previously recommended, in his report, the extradition of the individual to Morocco, highlighting that he is “facing criminal charges that have equivalent in Spanish law, and they do not fall within the extradition impediments stipulated in the agreement for the extradition of agreement” between Rabat and Madrid.
The Spanish Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that the person concerned, who holds Moroccan nationality, has been involved, based on documents he received from Morocco, in organizing irregular migration operations since at least 2009.
He added: “Since 2019, the detainee was able to obtain a greater number of rubber boats, as he was organizing 3 irregular migration operations per week, as the leader of the network that includes other individuals whose mission is to monitor or supply boats and engines.”
The defendant’s defense demanded that he avoid being handed over to the Moroccan judiciary by submitting a request for asylum, claiming the individual is an “opposition activist,” claiming that the accusations against him were “fabricated.”
Y.S. was arrested in the town of Roquetas de Mar, in the Almeria region, southern Spain, on August 17, 2022.
Morocco submitted a request months ago to extradite him, but the defendant’s defense appealed the request before the Spanish judiciary.
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