Moroccan Traveler Denied Entry to Jordan, Sent Back to Egypt

Jordanian authorities blocked the Moroccan national at the airport after a thorough security check, considering him "undesirable" on their territory, according to sources from Hespress, emphasizing that "the Moroccan citizen was kept in a detention room at the airport," waiting to be repatriated to the Egyptian capital this Sunday.

"The detention room at King Hussein Airport is furnished to hotel standards and equipped with all necessary amenities, including a bed," specify the same sources, informing that "the Moroccan embassy in Jordan managed, on Saturday morning and after several attempts, to establish direct contact with the Moroccan citizen," who had his phone confiscated after publishing an article about his situation.

During the exchanges, Abdellah Massaoudi reassured the embassy that he "was being treated correctly." The Moroccan national explained to the Moroccan authorities that he arrived in Jordan without a visa on Wednesday from Egypt for a tourist stay, and that he planned to go to Abu Dhabi and Kazakhstan. The young man admitted "not having been informed of the need for a visa to enter Jordan."

Jordanian authorities are preparing to send him back to Egypt, from where he arrived. But Abdellah Massaoudi "refuses," arguing that "his Egyptian visa has expired." He denounces an "arbitrary detention" at the airport, as well as reception conditions "not meeting minimum comfort standards." The Moroccan also deplored "the initial silence of the Moroccan embassy" which was slow to contact Jordanian authorities to inquire about the reasons for his detention.