Moroccan Retiree Mistakenly Arrested at Barcelona Airport in Identity Mix-Up

As he was getting off the plane at El Prat airport, coming from Nador, Mohamed el-Maadioui, 71, was a thousand miles from imagining what was waiting for him. This man who has worked and resided in Catalonia with his family, retired before settling with part of his relatives in Morocco, is used to visiting his children and nephews residing in the Mataró (Maresme) area was arrested on Sunday, February 18 at El Prat de Llobregat airport. While his relatives were waiting for hours at Terminal 2, they did not see the slightest trace of the septuagenarian who does not have a mobile phone. Worried, they approached the airport staff, but they did not obtain any information about his arrest. 24 hours after what they thought was a disappearance, the sons and cousins of Mohamed went to file a complaint with the Mossos d’Esquadra in Mataró. 30 hours later, they received a call from the elements of the autonomous police force of Catalonia, informing them of the arrest and incarceration of Mohamed el-Maadioui. According to the explanations provided to them, the septuagenarian’s name, first names and date of birth match those of a wanted criminal in France for belonging to a criminal gang, for arms and drug trafficking. Since last September, the fugitive has been the subject of an international arrest warrant after being sentenced to 10 years by a French court.

"I couldn’t imagine such a situation, but the level has reached this unbelievable point: to arrest a person at Barcelona’s Terminal 2, transfer him to Madrid, thinking he is a person he is not. It seems now that we have to not only watch our actions, but also those of the people with whom we share a name. Unfair. Sad. Horrible," fumes Ahmed el-Maadioui, whose father is Mohamed’s cousin, to the Spanish newspaper El Periódico. After his arrest, the uncle was incarcerated in the Brians 1 prison pending his extradition to France. The nephew expresses his concern for the time he will spend in prison. He "must not understand anything, all of a sudden, he found himself locked up without knowing why, just for being the wrong person. It’s unreal and surreal," rages Ahmed, who points to a "very serious mistake" that should not happen "in a serious country". He regrets that the agents did not look at his identity document to compare it with the data on the arrest warrant.

Aranzazu Menéndez Fernández, Mohamed’s lawyer, is fighting to prevent extradition and obtain the release of her client, whom she and the detainee’s relatives believe is the victim of a homonym. In addition to the name and first name, the two Mohameds share the date of birth, January 1, as well as the year. In Morocco, it is common in bureaucracy before the 1980s to put by default the same day, January 1, as the date of birth in all identity documents, it is explained. Only the year changes. Moreover, the el-Maadiouis are originally from northern Morocco. The lawyer also intends to claim damages for this arrest and for the time Mohamed will spend in pre-trial detention. She assures that her client has never been to France and that it is a mistake that sends a septuagenarian suffering from hypertension to prison.