Omani Sultan Pardons Moroccan Woman After 7 Years in Prison for Drug Trafficking

Whose father is Moroccan had been recruited by a drug trafficking network in Spain, which had sent her to Oman to retrieve a package containing seven kilos of morphine. Arrested in this country, she will be sentenced to life imprisonment. But after seven years in prison, she was pardoned by the Sultan of Oman on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, which allowed her return to Spain a week ago, relays RTVE.

At a press conference held at the headquarters of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Barcelona, the young Catalan woman thanked all those who had supported her through this difficult ordeal and helped her regain her freedom and return to Spain. "I owe my life to those who fought (for me)," said Fatima Ofkir, assuring that she is a "person born again and transformed".

The 25-year-old woman has pledged not to "waste the second chance" that life has given her and to be an example of "overcoming" for young people. "Easy money and ease always lead to the abyss, and false friendships and bad influences lead to error, so don’t be fooled by empty promises and don’t fall into the trap as I did out of naivety," she advised young people.

The Catalan native of Hospitalet de Llobregat says she lived "hell" during those seven years in prison, evoking the loneliness in her cell and the "difficulties of adaptation" to Omani culture. She was forced to speak on the phone with her family for only one minute every two weeks. Now free, Fatima Ofkir is determined to pursue her law studies and "fight" as others "have done" for her.