Moroccan Detainee on Hunger Strike Faces Deportation, Health Crisis in Spain

The Moroccan, MB, has lived in Malaga for 20 years where he runs a trading company. He has just finished serving a prison sentence for trafficking in counterfeit currency and drugs. But, in accordance with Article 57.2 of the Organic Law on the Rights and Freedoms of Foreigners in Spain and their Social Integration, which stipulates that a foreigner sentenced to more than one year in prison must be returned to his country, deportation proceedings have been initiated against him, El Diario reports.

This is how the 38-year-old man has been incarcerated since February 7, with no possibility of appealing the deportation procedure. To denounce this "unfair" situation, he has gone on a hunger strike. "Spending 45 days without eating is not easy," says the detainee who will complete the 60 days of detention required in a CIE in a few weeks. Until then, he still does not know his fate and has no contact with his family or his country of origin, Morocco.

Being in this center "is worse than prison," confides the Moroccan who does not complain about the treatment, but rather about the facilities. "It’s cold, there’s a lot of humidity and it’s unpleasant," he explains, noting that he has already been taken to the hospital three times due to his health condition. "The latest tests say I’m doing well," he assures. Police sources also confirm that he is "under close medical supervision." However, the president of Algeciras Acoge, Jesús Mancilla, who has visited the detainee several times, is concerned about his health, which is "deteriorating seriously."

The association leader says he fears for the life of the Moroccan who can no longer walk alone. This is why, in collaboration with the Human Rights Association and the Claver association, they filed a complaint with the Spanish Ombudsman on Thursday to inform him of the "obvious deterioration of the Moroccan’s state of health" and requested his transfer to a medical or hospital center for proper care.