Moroccan arrested in Germany over alleged spying on protest group
Stay tuned with 24 News HD Android App
German authorities have arrested a Moroccan man accused of spying on supporters of a protest group for a Moroccan secret service, prosecutors said Thursday.
Identified as Youssef El A., the suspect was held at Frankfurt airport on Wednesday after initially being detained in Spain on the basis of a European arrest warrant, prosecutors said.
Youssef El A. is "strongly suspected of having worked for a Moroccan secret service" from at least January 2022 onward, they said.
They accuse him of spying on members of Al-Hirak al-Shaabi ("Popular Movement"), a Moroccan opposition protest group, along with an accomplice identified as Mohamed A.
Mohamed A. was found guilty of spying on supporters of the Hirak movement in August 2023 and was given a suspended sentence of one year and nine months.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of 4,300 euros ($4,600).
The higher regional court in Duesseldorf found that he had passed on information about two German-Moroccans living in Germany, receiving airline tickets in return.
The Hirak movement emerged in northern Morocco's Rif region in 2016 following anger over the death of a fishmonger crushed by a bin lorry as he tried to recover swordfish seized by police.
It sparked protests demanding development in the long-marginalised Berber region, which led to dozens of arrests.