Madrid Train Bombing Convict’s Appeal Rejected in Morocco, 14-Year Sentence Upheld

After 14 years in prison in Spain, Hassan el Haski had been extradited to Morocco on June 4. His lawyer, Jalil Idrissi, had filed an appeal in Morocco to demand his release, reports the website Le Courrier de l’Atlas.

However, the Criminal Chamber (2nd degree) in charge of terrorism cases at the annex of the Court of Appeal of Salé rejected his request on October 16. As a result, the double sentence is maintained for the terrorist.

Hassan el Haski is one of the last convicts in the March 2004 attacks that occurred in Madrid and left 191 dead. The Spanish justice system presents him as one of the most important leaders of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM), a group considered the Al Qaeda branch in Europe.

Originally from Morocco, Hassan El Haski, alias Cheikh Hassan, settled in Syria in 1995 where he worked at the al-Fatah Islamic Institute in Damascus, before joining Belgium between 1997 and 2004. His arrest came in Lanzarote in December 2004 while he was actively wanted by Interpol.