Loss of nationality

Articles

• Record 41 French Citizenships Revoked in 2024, Mostly North African Immigrants
  15 April, by Sylvanus

  Moroccans, Algerians, and Tunisians are the foreign-origin individuals most affected by the revocation of French nationality.
  In 2024, 41 people lost their French nationality, a record number, according to the French media Les Jours. Most of the people affected by this measure are from Maghreb countries, particularly Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia, it is specified.
  Provided for by Article 25 of the Civil Code, the revocation of French nationality mainly applies to individuals who have (…)

• French Citizenship Revoked for Man Convicted in Jihadist Plot
  1 June 2019, by Said

  Aged 36, Mohamed El Hafiani had been sentenced in 2014 to a 5-year prison term for attempting to join jihadists in Afghanistan. He had been arrested by Pakistani authorities who had then extradited him to France a few months later. He was with two other Frenchmen, including Naamen Meziche, a Franco-Algerian, sentenced to 14 years in prison for "criminal terrorist conspiracy".
  The deprivation of French nationality is only possible in very specific cases, notably having been convicted of (…)

• Belgium Revokes Citizenship of 8 Terror Convicts with Moroccan Ties
  31 July 2020, by Ginette

  Eight people, including Moroccans, convicted of terrorism, have been stripped of their Belgian nationality in their absence. The justice system accuses them of "having seriously failed in their obligations as Belgian citizens".
  These eight people who have had their Belgian nationality revoked have been sentenced to at least 5 years in prison for terrorism. Most would have joined the Islamic State and the ranks of Daesh in Iraq or Syria, where their fate is uncertain. They no longer have a (…)

• Jailed Moroccan Protest Leaders Seek to Renounce Citizenship, Citing Injustice
  26 August 2019, by Sylvanus

  Nasser Zefzafi, leader of the "Hirak" protest movement, and five other detained activists have requested to be deprived of their Moroccan nationality. It was his father who made this known on social media.
  Nasser Zefzafi, Nabil Ahamjik, Ouassim el Boustati, Samir Ighid, Mohamed el Haki and Zakaria Adechour have addressed their request to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the King at the Court of Cassation. They denounced the "instrumentalization of justice", which (…)

• Protesters Vandalize Moroccan Consulate in Utrecht, Demand Citizenship Revocation
  1 September 2019, by Sylvanus

  The Moroccan Consulate in Utrecht was visited by pro-Zefzafi residents in the Netherlands. They vandalized national symbols and demanded to be stripped of their Moroccan nationality just like their leader, Nasser Zefzafi, and the six other detainees of the Hirak of the Rif.
  Pro-Zefzafi are following in the footsteps of their leader and the six other detainees of the Hirak of the Rif. They burst into the Moroccan Consulate in Utrecht. Flag of the famous "Rif Republic" and photos of Zefzafi (…)

• French Government Revokes Citizenship of Man Who Attempted to Join Syria After Charlie Hebdo Attack
  26 October 2019, by Sylvanus

  Fayçal Aït Messoud, 23, lost his French nationality due to his attempt to join Syria a few days after the attacks against Charlie Hebdo and the Hypercacher in Paris. This is the decision of the French Government.
  It is a decree dated Tuesday, October 22 and published in the Official Journal two days later that establishes the deprivation of French nationality of Fayçal Aït Messoud.
  After the attacks against the satirical weekly, Charlie Hebdo, in January 2015, this 23-year-old man had (…)

• Israeli Woman Arrested in Morocco for Alleged Passport Fraud Scheme
  27 October 2019, by Bladi.net

  Her name is on the list of people actively sought by the National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ). Indeed, Miri Nahmani has been prosecuted since August 30, 2018, for forgery and use of forgery.
  According to the explanations of the BNPJ relayed by Barlamane, this Israeli citizen is involved in a criminal network, which has specialized in the falsification of official documents for the acquisition of Moroccan nationality. This is a very active network that was dismantled by the BNPJ (…)

• Belgium Revokes Citizenship of 13 Convicted Terrorists with Dual Nationality
  15 February 2022, by Sylvanus

  Convicted by default in Belgium for terrorism, thirteen fighters - mostly Belgian-Moroccans - who went to Syria or Afghanistan, have been stripped of their Belgian nationality by the Brussels Court of Appeal.
  The Brussels Court of Appeal has stripped 13 men - mostly Belgian-Moroccans - of their Belgian nationality, convicted by default for terrorism, reports Belga. 12 of them had joined the jihadist ranks in Syria between late December 2012 and December 2014. As for the thirteenth, he had (…)

• France Strips Citizenship from 16 Dual Nationals over Terrorism, Sparking Maghreb Tensions
  30 October 2019, by Sylvanus

  While Morocco and Algeria are more conciliatory on the subject, Tunisia, on the other hand, seems more radical. Many of these dual nationals from Maghreb countries have lost their French nationality due to terrorism-related affairs.
  In total, 16 dual nationals have lost their French nationality, due to the relatively restrictive conditions of deprivation of nationality since 1998 and the entry of this measure into Article 25 of the Civil Code, recalls L’express.
  The deprivation of (…)

• Belgium Revokes Citizenship of Six Suspected Terrorists with Ties to Syria
  3 January 2020, by Bladi.net

  Six Belgo-Moroccan fighters, who went to Syria, have lost their Belgian nationality. This decision follows legal proceedings initiated against them.
  Ali and Said El Morabit, Ilyass Boughalab, Bilal Elhamdaoui, Azdine Tahiri and Fouad Akrich, who left for Syria several years ago and have not given any sign of life, have been deprived of their Belgian nationality, several Flemish dailies report.
  Convicted in absentia for terrorism in 2015, the Court of Appeal has withdrawn the Belgian (…)