Greek court greenlights extradition of 30-year-old Moroccan ISIS member

The Council of State, Greece's highest administrative court, approved on Wednesday the extradition of a 30-year-old Moroccan man who is believed to be a member of the ISIS terrorist organisation.

The suspected ISIS member was arrested in Thessaloniki in July 2021 after Interpol issued a red alert and an arrest warrant by a Moroccan prosecutor, charging him with the formation of a criminal organisation and carrying out terrorist activities, among other offences.

The Council of Appeals in Thessaloniki and the Supreme Court (Areios Pagos) favoured his extradition, as according to the Supreme Court, there was no evidence to substantiate the validity of the man's claims, who had said that his human rights were at stake in Morocco and that he will not have a fair trial there.

On January 1, 2023, the Greek justice minister signed off on his extradition.

But the man appealed his case anew, this time to the Supreme Court, requesting that the ministerial decision be voided and alleging that he was an ISIS member only in name and that he never committed the crimes with which he was charged.

In its decision, the Supreme Court noted that the man never appeared before them in person, did not have an ID or passport issued by Moroccan authorities, did not have a Greek stay permit or asylum seeker documents, while no notarial deed of power of attorney was presented to his lawyer, despite the relevant deadline given to the latter.

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