Spanish court rules against Moroccan’s asylum application

A Moroccan man has his asylum bid rejected by the Spanish court due to a lack of evidence of religious persecution.

According to Yabiladi on September 29^th, the man argued he faced attacks in Morocco for refusing to follow Islam, to the point he felt his life was in danger. He told the court he “knows nothing about Islam, does not practice or fast, and never felt integrated,” adding that he had been assaulted in both Morocco and Spain, particularly in Bilbao, for not taking part in Ramadan.

The man also maintained that he had previously filed complaints about his abuse in Morocco, with some of his aggressors being relocated to Spain, and one even serving a prison sentence in Morocco.

However, he admitted he had no conflict with Moroccan authorities, though he claimed he felt unsafe and fearful of Muslims in the kingdom. Records further showed he had been expelled from Spain in 2017 with a five-year re-entry ban and detained several times afterwards for immigration violations and minor offences.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had reportedly already dismissed his initial request, concluding in June 2024 that there was a lack of grounds for protection. Seemingly, that opinion strongly influenced Spanish authorities, who found his claims didn’t demonstrate a “justified fear of persecution” based on religion, politics, race, nationality, gender, or social group.

In reviewing the case, the Spanish court apparently cited international reports affirming that Morocco’s constitution guarantees freedom of belief, criminalises attempts to convert and anti-Islam incitement, but does not punish citizens for privately rejecting Islam or adopting other faiths.

Unauthorised migration has long been a challenge for both Morocco and Spain, involving not only smugglers who profit from desperate people trying to get to Europe, but also questions over how Morocco manages migrants themselves.

According to Maghrebi, NGOs have grown concerned about Morocco’s treatment of undocumented migrants when they arrive in the kingdom, saying many are relocated to already economically strained areas with little to no government support.