Spanish Court Orders Release of Moroccan Man Wrongly Held in Barcelona Attack Case

Salh El Karib had been arrested as a suspected accomplice in the Barcelona attacks. After four and a half years in detention, where he underwent the entire police and judicial investigation, he was never called to the dock and was not convicted, according to El Confidencial. The National Court has finally decided to release him and return "the 15,000 euros seized in the Ripoll stand he was running" as well as the items recovered from the company and his home where he had been arrested in the presence of his wife and children.

The 15,000 euros seized were in denominations of 29 bills of 500 euros and five of 100. As for the seized objects, they consisted of two mobile phones, a tablet, receipts, prepaid cards, two credit cards, a Lyon-Barcelona train ticket, a 50-euro check, a memory card, etc. Salh El Karib was held incommunicado for the maximum duration of five days provided for by the anti-terrorism law. He had never been arrested before.

According to the initial elements of the investigation, the young man would have provided logistical means to the jihadists so that they could go to Morocco and Belgium before the attacks. The investigators were able to demonstrate that Salh El Karib’s company was buying travel tickets for the perpetrators of these terrorist acts, in exchange for a commission, but was not a member of the criminal network and was not aware of their terrorist plans.

In its decision of December 27, the National Court asked Salh El Karib to provide a bank account number on which the seized amount will be deposited. But according to sources close to the person concerned, the latter would not have a bank account. The young man of Moroccan origin is having a hard time recovering from this misadventure. Thanks to the help of some compatriots who lent him 10,000 euros, he was able to reopen his business, without equipment and without the trust of the telephone companies. He is waiting for the seized objects to be returned to him in order to make a fresh start.