Spanish Court Removes Children from Moroccan Family Amid Abuse Allegations

According to Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, a Spanish court decision has resulted in the removal of children from a family following allegations of repeated violence by one of the parents.

Bourita stated that the information gathered by the Moroccan consulate in Barcelona suggests a situation of abuse towards the woman and the three children of this family. Following these revelations, the General Directorate for the Protection of Children and Adolescents (DGAIA), of the Catalan Department of Justice, intervened. After following all the necessary procedures, two of the children were entrusted to their aunt in Bilbao, while the eldest, the main victim of violence, was placed in a specialized center.

The minister also specified that no complaint has been filed by a member of the family concerned, originally from the Nador region, to recover the children. "No Moroccan citizen from the Nador region has complained to the consulate general in the Catalonia region in order to recover his children," he assured.

Furthermore, Bourita emphasized the importance of understanding the laws of the host country by new arrivals in Europe, as well as taking into account cultural and educational differences. He also refuted accusations of a Spanish policy aimed at removing children from Arab and Muslim immigrant communities, stating that these measures are taken towards all families who have shown mistreatment of their children.