Belgium Denies Asylum to Convicted Terrorist Malika El Aroud, Faces Deportation

Her application was rejected by the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA), report several Belgian media, including the newspaper La Libre Belgique. Her lawyer is contesting and plans to refer the matter to the Aliens Litigation Council.

Of Moroccan origin, Malika El Aroud was deprived of her Belgian nationality for having "seriously failed in her duties as a Belgian citizen". On October 11, she had been arrested by the police and then placed in a closed center with a view to her expulsion to Morocco.

Her lawyers fear that she "is exposed to torture or inhuman and degrading treatment if she is returned to Morocco".

Former wife of one of the assassins of Commander Massoud, Malika El Aroud had been convicted several times in Switzerland and Belgium for her support for criminal organizations.