A Moroccan Woman Flees Her Brother with Her Three Children, but the Netherlands Sends Her Back to Spain

The woman, born in 1992 and a Moroccan national, had submitted an asylum application in the Netherlands with her three minor children, born in 2014, 2017 and 2019. However, the Dutch authorities refused to examine their case, considering Spain responsible under the Dublin Regulation.

On 4 March 2026, the Spanish authorities had agreed to take back the mother and her children. Two weeks later, on 18 March, the Dutch Ministry of Asylum and Migration therefore decided not to process their application.

The Moroccan woman challenged this decision before the court in The Hague. In particular, she argued that the reception conditions for asylum seekers in Spain presented sufficiently serious problems to prevent their transfer.

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But her main argument was much more personal. According to the decision of the court in The Hague, she claims to be threatened by her own brother and says she fears for her life if she has to return to Spain. Family threats have already been cited by Moroccans applying for asylum in Spain.

Her brother allegedly has friends in Spain

The mother explains that the proximity between Spain and Morocco increases the danger in her view. She also claims to have many followers on social media, which would make it possible to recognize and find her quickly.

Her brother would also have friends in Spain who could locate her. To support her fears, the Moroccan woman also claims that the Spanish police allegedly failed to protect her brother’s ex-wife.

Finally, she believes that moving again would have consequences for her three children. They now attend school in the Netherlands, are learning Dutch and have allegedly regained a certain degree of stability after a particularly difficult period.

The Dutch government acknowledges that the situation described is difficult, but considers that nothing demonstrates that the Spanish authorities would be unable to protect the family. A protection issue that is already at the heart of other cases in which Moroccans have claimed to be threatened after leaving Morocco.

The court follows this reasoning. The judges acknowledge that the Moroccan woman feels in danger because of the threats attributed to her brother, but note that she has provided no evidence showing that the Spanish police or courts could not or would not assist her.

Her brother’s threats may precisely be invoked as part of her asylum application in Spain. And if she believes that the Spanish authorities are not fulfilling their obligations, she may appeal to the relevant administrative bodies or courts in the country.

Regarding the children, the court accepts that they do not wish to move once again and that they have regained a certain stability in the Netherlands. However, their presence in the country is still relatively recent, and no specific evidence makes it possible to establish that a transfer to Spain would seriously harm their development.

On Bladi.net : article 123158

The Moroccan woman’s appeal was therefore declared unfounded on 1 September. Her request to temporarily prevent the transfer was also rejected. The decision, published on 2 September, allows the Netherlands to maintain its refusal to examine the asylum application and to transfer the mother and her three children to Spain.