DR ‹ › Spain's National Court has refused to extradite a Moroccan citizen to the judicial authorities in Rabat. The man had been sentenced in Spain to nine years in prison for piloting a boat used in irregular migration, during which 16 people died of thirst before reaching the Canary Islands. The Las Palmas court convicted him in 2022, sentencing him to five years in prison for facilitating irregular migration, in addition to four more years for 16 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The case relates to a boat he piloted that drifted in the Atlantic Ocean for 14 days in October 2020 after departing from Dakhla and heading toward the Canary Islands. In its decision, reported by EFE, the court noted that Morocco's extradition request was based on the bilateral extradition treaty between the two countries, adding that there were no indications the request was motivated by political, religious, or racial reasons. The court also found that the incidents cited by Moroccan authorities, based on a complaint filed by the brother of one of the victims, could qualify under Spanish law as crimes of membership in a criminal organization, facilitating irregular migration, and involuntary manslaughter. However, the judges ultimately rejected the extradition request, noting that the suspect is already serving a prison sentence in Spain for the same actions.
