The case highlighted concerns over extradition practices, torture in detention, and fair trial standards in Morocco.
Key Facts
- Arrest in Spain
- Late 2008, on arms smuggling charges
- Acquitted in Spain
- Charges dropped before extradition
- Extradited to Morocco
- December 2010
- Sentence handed down
- November 2011, 12 years in prison
- Release date
- 2 April 2020
- Campaign groups
- Human rights NGOs and Belgium-based 'Free Ali' committee
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ali Aarrass, a Moroccan-Belgian dual national, was arrested in Spain in late 2008 on suspicion of arms smuggling. Although acquitted of those charges by Spanish courts, he was extradited to Morocco in December 2010, where Moroccan authorities pursued terrorism-related allegations against him.
In November 2011, Moroccan anti-terrorism judge Abdelkader Chentouf sentenced Aarrass to 12 years in prison based on confessions that Aarrass and human rights observers alleged were obtained through torture and degrading treatment during his pre-trial detention in Morocco.
The imprisonment drew sustained international attention and condemnation from human rights organizations and NGOs, as well as a dedicated Belgian advocacy campaign called 'Free Ali.' Aarrass was ultimately released on 2 April 2020 and repatriated to Belgium after being reunited with his sister in Melilla.