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Spain's National Court has rejected Morocco's request to extradite a Moroccan national wanted in connection with an irregular migration case that resulted in multiple deaths, ruling that the request did not meet the requirements of the bilateral extradition treaty between the two countries.
In a decision issued on Thursday, the court said the alleged offenses attributed to the man, who was arrested in Spain last February, do not carry the minimum sentence required under Spanish law for extradition, which is set at two years' imprisonment.
Moroccan authorities had sought his extradition to prosecute him on charges of human trafficking and fraud following the disappearance at sea of three people in September 2021 while attempting to reach Spain on a jet ski that departed from Khemis Sahel beach.
Citing documents from the Tangier Court of Appeal, the Spanish court found that the suspect's role was limited to temporarily storing the jet ski at the request of the alleged leader of the network. It concluded that he was neither an organizer of the crossing nor a member of a criminal organization, a position supported by both the public prosecutor and the defense.
The court added that, under Spanish law, the alleged conduct amounts to the offense of facilitating irregular migration, which carries a sentence of three months to one year in prison or a fine, below the legal threshold required for extradition to Morocco.
