Moroccan Lawmaker Demands Justice for Abderrahim: Police Chokehold Death Sparks Diplomatic Tensions

The Abderrahim case arrives in Parliament. In a written question addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, Deputy Naïma El Fathaoui said that the death of the young Moroccan has caused a deep shock within the Moroccan community in Spain. Especially after the dissemination of images of the incident and testimonies reporting the use by the police officer of a "rear stranglehold" technique, known as the técnica del mataleón. Images show the pleas of passers-by. They claimed that the victim was not carrying any weapon and posed no danger.

After the incident, the Spanish authorities, under public pressure, had to take a number of measures. They opened a judicial investigation, decided on the temporary suspension of the police officer, the withdrawal of his passport, as well as his placement under judicial control. The police officer in question is the subject of an investigation for involuntary manslaughter. But the decision to prosecute him on provisional release has sparked a wave of outrage among the Moroccan community and anti-racist organizations, she adds.

After this development, El Fathaoui seeks to know the measures taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the services of the Moroccan embassy in Madrid to ensure the follow-up of the case, and on the extent of the legal and moral support provided to the victim’s family. She calls for clarifying the procedures in place to protect Moroccans residing in Spain against racist attacks. In her view, the Abderrahim affair is not an isolated incident, but it is part of a general context of the rise of hate speech and racism in several European countries.

Hence the need for serious diplomatic action to defend the rights of the Moroccan community and guarantee its security.