Spanish Court Blocks Extradition of Alleged Migrant Smuggler to Morocco

The Attorney General of the King near the Court of Appeal of Tétouan in Morocco has issued an international arrest warrant against the Moroccan Y.H, wanted for an "offense of belonging to a criminal organization specialized in the regular trafficking of migrants by maritime means," punishable by a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

The Moroccan appeared on December 10, assisted by his lawyer, Karim El Marbouhe El Faqyr, before the Court which had initiated the extradition procedure the day before upon receipt of the arrest warrant. The Moroccan authorities issued this warrant on the basis of the statements of another Moroccan detainee who confessed to the police that Y.H had given him money for the operation and had received 200,000 dirhams from a migrant trafficking network active in Larache (Morocco).

To read: article 51825

At a new appearance in February, YH provided the Court with a default judgment from the Court of First Instance of Tétouan convicting him of a fine of 2,000 dirhams for illegally leaving the national territory, a clean criminal record, medical certificates, payment receipts, health and school insurance for his wife and son, the expulsion order he received after arriving by boat, etc.

At the end of the investigation, the file was entrusted to the High National Court. At the hearing on May 18, the public prosecutor requested that the Moroccan be extradited, while his lawyer pleaded the opposite, arguing that the extradition is requested for unspecified acts and without an indictment. The Court ruled in favor of the lawyer, arguing that the Moroccan detainee did not provide any evidence of his allegations against YH and that the "principle of minimum sentence is not respected."