Spanish Court Upholds Expulsion of Moroccan Student Over Security Concerns

The Administrative Chamber of the National Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Moroccan, who holds a bachelor’s degree in science and technology in Spain and was enrolled at a university in 2016. Born in Al Hoceima, Morocco in 1997, the young man had been residing in Spain for years and, according to the central register of foreigners, had a temporary residence permit that expired in April 2004, before obtaining a long-term residence permit in March 2011 and settling in a Spanish municipality with his mother and brother in 2012, reports El Confidencial Digital.

To read: Spain Deports Suspected Terrorist to Morocco for Inciting Violence Online

According to the anti-terrorism services, the young man and his brother "have undergone a deep process of self-indoctrination and radicalization". They celebrated the 2015 Paris attacks claimed by ISIS and even expressed the wish that "something similar would happen in Spain". On his WhatsApp profile, the young man mentioned that he "doesn’t like Jews very much", which had led the police to consider him a religious extremist.

But the Moroccan was actually suffering from a serious psychological imbalance that made him suddenly violent and aggressive and gave him suicidal urges. For these reasons, the authorities considered that he constituted a "threat to Spanish public security". A jihadist with suicidal ideas can quickly carry out a terrorist attack, the police had warned, who asked the Secretary of State for Security to initiate an administrative procedure for expulsion from national territory.

To read: Spain Expels Moroccan ISIS Supporter Who Planned Christmas Terror Attack

Based on Article 54.1.a) of Organic Law 4/2000 of January 11 on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration, which prohibits them from "participating in activities contrary to national security or likely to harm Spain’s relations with other countries...", the authority decided, on November 16, 2018, to expel the Moroccan with "the prohibition of entering Spain for a period of ten years".

A decision contested by the Moroccan who denounced "a lack of valid evidence in law to prove" his guilt. "The sanction of expulsion and the prohibition of entry for the maximum applicable period are sufficiently justified and respect the principle of proportionality, without any appreciation of any regulatory offense," the administrative judge ruled on appeal.