Spanish Court Acquits Moroccan Ex-Imam of Jihadist Indoctrination Charges

The Moroccan, imam of a mosque in the city between 2015 and 2017, presided over a cultural association and was very active within the Muslim community. For years, this native of Beni Mellal (Morocco) expressed extremist opinions on the Internet and maintained contacts with radical Muslims. However, the National Court felt that it could not convict him for the crimes of jihadist indoctrination and financing of terrorist groups for which the prosecution had requested nine years in prison, reports El Pais.

The acquittal decision for the 46-year-old Moroccan and another 29-year-old compatriot from Tetouan was handed down on July 14. According to the judges, these are "mere suspicions", as there is no proof that the main defendant financed terrorist acts or even that he was immersed in a process of "personal radicalization or true terrorist self-indoctrination" that would lead him to act. What is established is that he made jihadist posts on social networks "with content from Daesh, Al-Qaeda, the Ezzeldin Al-Qassam Brigades or the Muslim Brotherhood".

"The evidence that was gathered could not maintain such a serious accusation," said his lawyer, Sara Rodríguez Riley. During the trial, the defendant denied having served as an imam in a mosque in San Sebastian and trying to indoctrinate young people, including his own children. He also denied making radical posts on his two Facebook profiles. As for the financing of terrorism, the investigators indicated that the Moroccan owned 12 bank accounts with more than 111,000 euros.

For the judges, the defendant went to France to "obtain funding", but there is no evidence that it was intended for Islamist organizations. During the trial, the defendant stated that these resources were used for the activities of the cultural association he chaired. "The police acknowledged during the trial that they did not know the destination of the money handled by this defendant, and that there were also no significant withdrawals of money abroad," the Court observed, which ultimately acquitted the Moroccan.