Spanish Court Upholds Expulsion of Moroccan Terror Suspect Linked to ISIS

The decision to expel the Moroccan was made following a complaint from the Central Unit dedicated to the surveillance and identification of potential jihadist terrorists under the Directorate General of Information of the Civil Guard. Criminal proceedings had been opened against the Moroccan who was already the subject of an investigation by a court. The Secretary of State for Security had therefore suspended the expulsion procedure on March 14, 2019, before reversing his decision on February 25, 2020 and ordering the defendant’s expulsion from the national territory, reports El Confidencial Digital.

The expulsion had been decided on the basis of the law on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain which prohibits their "participation in activities contrary to national security or likely to harm Spain’s relations with other countries". Arrested in 2018 for alleged jihadist terrorism, the Moroccan had been placed in detention where, according to the investigators, he would have undergone a process of radicalization given his change of behavior after his release from prison. "He became very religious and spent most of his time watching videos related to the terrorist organization Daesh," say the Civil Guard investigators.

The Moroccan also confided to his relatives that he was ready to go to Syria to "die in the name of Allah". This is one of the reasons that led the investigators to recommend his expulsion for a threat to national security. Several images were found on his mobile phone, "all related to jihadist terrorism and showing beheading scenes". The Moroccan has a well-filled criminal record. He had already been convicted of various crimes of violent theft, drug trafficking and other related to immigration. But he had never been convicted of jihadist terrorism, recalls his defense.

The expulsion of the Moroccan is justified as soon as it is established that he is participating in "activities contrary to national security" or which "may harm Spain’s relations with other countries", the judges of the Audiencia Nacional have indicated, considering that it is not necessary to require the full report of the Civil Guard unit to verify the facts. Consequently, they confirmed "the measures of expulsion and entry ban for 10 years" of the Moroccan, born in Tangier in 1990, arrived in Spain since 2002 and settled in Madrid in 2017. Between 2012 and 2022, 101 foreigners have been expelled from Spain for reasons of national security, the Civil Guard report points out.