Morocco Approves Extradition of Saudi Dissident Usama Al-Hasani

The Moroccan justice ordered Wednesday the extradition of Usama Al-Hasani after he was heard by a judge, the wife of the Saudi opponent confided to Reuters. During the Monday hearing, Usama’s lawyers had insisted on his Moroccan nationality in order to prevent his extradition. They cited documents proving that the father of their client is Moroccan. To no avail.

Arrived in Morocco on February 8 to visit his wife and baby, Usama Al-Hasani was arrested upon disembarking at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca. Saudi Arabia had issued an international arrest warrant against him. On February 23, he was transferred to the Tiflet prison, 175 kilometers northwest of Casablanca.

Usama Al-Hasani’s wife fears that her husband will suffer the same fate as Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist, an American resident, killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul (Turkey) in April 2018. The "Prisonners of Conscience" platform has expressed the same fears. On this platform, several Arab academics and journalists had appealed to King Mohammed VI to refuse his extradition.