RABAT, Morocco – Morocco is studying the possibility of suspending the application of its extradition agreement with Spain, citing problems with the handover of individuals requested by Moroccan courts, Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi told EFE on Wednesday.
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“We are currently debating within the Ministry of Justice the possibility of suspending the application of the extradition agreement between Morocco and Spain,” Ouahbi said in a telephone interview.
The minister said that when Morocco requests the extradition of a person from Spain, the individual is initially detained. However, once their identity is verified and a date for transfer is set, Moroccan security agents are sent to take custody—and sometimes the handover does not materialise. “We are told that the person was released,” Ouahbi said, describing such situations as “incomprehensible,” though he did not provide details of specific cases.
“We also apply the same procedure, while we do hand over all persons whose extradition the Spanish request,” he added. The minister called on Spain to treat extradition procedures “seriously” and warned that Morocco no longer accepts the initiation of handover operations that are not ultimately executed. “We cannot send our agents to receive the persons whose extradition is requested, and then it does not happen, with the argument that they did not show up at the scheduled time for the plane’s departure from the airport,” he explained.
Ouahbi added that Morocco is also unwilling to accept breaches in repatriation procedures. “If Spain does not want to respect the handover procedures nor the repatriation procedures, we can suspend these agreements,” he concluded.
The statement comes amid what Ouahbi described as delays by Spanish authorities in the repatriation of unaccompanied Moroccan minors who enter Spain irregularly, with the minister emphasising the approach of the new school year and the need for the children to return to their schools .
The minister also criticised Spain for “accepting” and “regularising” people who arrive irregularly on its territory, while, he said, Rabat tries to prevent their departure from Morocco. “When we prevent entry, they accept the immigrants,” he said, arguing that this “exhausts” Morocco and causes problems. He questioned why, if Spain announces it is willing to receive all immigrants, both countries should force people to scale fences and throw themselves into the sea, calling for a coordinated position on migration flows .
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The mass migration surge into Ceuta, which peaked on July 30 with tens of thousands of people entering Spain, has heightened tensions between the two countries, with Morocco previously attributing the surge to a “call effect” generated by a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that excludes hot returns for people intercepted at sea when attempting to swim to Spanish territory.
