Belgium to Rule on Asylum Appeal of Notorious ’Jihad Widow’ Facing Deportation

She, who is nicknamed the black widow of Jihad, had her asylum application rejected last month by the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA) and her lawyer had decided to appeal.

Of Moroccan origin, Malika El Aroud was stripped 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 for the purpose of 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.

Belgium passed a law in May 2017 to facilitate the expulsion of criminals or "persons whose dangerous behavior has been proven and would pose a risk to national security".