News
Protests over Ali Aarrass conviction
(December 01, 2011)By IRR European News Team
1 December 2011, 3:00pm
Campaigners in London are protesting a conviction based on torture evidence.
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On Friday 16 December, the Friends of Ali Aarrass London Support Committee will hold a gathering at the Moroccan Embassy where they will hand in a letter of protest at the conviction of the dual Belgian-Moroccan national Ali Aarrass after what his lawyers have described as a 'travesty of a trial'. Ali Aarrass, was extradited from Spain to Morocco one year ago, despite an instruction from the UN Human Rights Committee not to extradite him while his case was being examined by the Committee. After being held for one year pending trial, during which time he says he was tortured, Ali Aarrass was finally tried on 24 November before three judges of the Rabat court sitting at Salé. By the end of the day, he had been convicted and sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment on terrorism-related charges - solely on evidence obtained by torture following his illegal extradition from Spain. The judges - who have obligations under international law to reject torture evidence - took barely an hour to reject the careful legal submissions of his defence team.
Protests will be taking place in London, Paris and Brussels on Friday 16 December (11-12pm) which is the first anniversary of Ali Aarrass' illegal extradition from Spain. Ali Aarrass's legal team are appealing against his conviction and are also petitioning the UN Committee Against Torture and the Human Rights Committee.
For further information about Ali Aarrass's illegal extradition from Spain and his treatment in Morocco see the Free Ali Aarrass website.