Spanish Court Orders Compensation for Moroccan Wrongfully Detained in 9/11 Investigation

The decision, handed down on November 3, highlights the judicial errors committed in this case, which underscores the importance of the presumption of innocence and the protection of the rights of the accused in legal proceedings.

The Spanish authorities, led by Judge Baltasar Garzón and the police, had linked Hilali to the terrorist attacks that took place at the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon due to a telephone conversation he had had with a Spanish Syrian Salafist, Imad Eddin Barakat, known as Abu Dahdah, considered the main person responsible for Al-Qaeda in Spain. The transcripts of this conversation, in which Hilali would have made statements, were considered suspicious by the judicial and police authorities.

However, after spending nearly five years in prison, Hilali was finally acquitted and recognized as a victim of a judicial error. The decision to compensate him was therefore the logical consequence to repair the damage caused by this error.