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EXTREMISM

Court in Spain approves deportation of ‘Salafist’ extremist to Morocco

A court in Spain has approved the deportation of a Moroccan Muslim activist, who is accused of being one of the "main advocates" in Spain of the Salafist movement of ultra-conservative Islamism.

national court spain madrid
The National Court also approved Thursday the deportation of another Moroccan, Amarouch Azbir, who is in charge of the Al Furquan mosque in the Catalan port of Vilanova i la Geltru. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

Police arrested Mohamed Said Badaoui on Tuesday in the northeastern province of Tarragona, where he was the president of the Association for the Defence of the Rights of the Muslim Community (Adedcom).

The 40-year-old was transferred to Madrid and he will be deported to Morocco on Thursday, the National Court said in a ruling dated October 19 which was only made public Thursday.

The court said it had approved the interior ministry’s deportation order due to “his participation in activities contrary to national security” and “public order”.

Spanish police consider Badaoui to be “one of the main advocates in Spain of the most orthodox Salafism, which he preaches so influentially that an increase in radicalism occurred in Tarragona” since he moved there, it added in its ruling.

Tweet posted by Badaoui which reads “You are not only responsible for what you do, but also for what you do not do, what you do not defend and what you remain silent about.” 

They also accuse him of “taking advantage” of the “vulnerability” of minors who arrive in Spain without their parents, “mainly of Moroccan origin”, to indoctrinate them in the “most radical Salafism,” which promotes a strictly conservative lifestyle.

Badoui has rejected these accusations. Well-known in Spain’s northeastern region of Catalonia where he has lived for nearly three decades, he presents himself as an activist and anti-racism campaigner.

He has been supported by Catalonia’s main separatist parties which govern the region as well as by the regional branch of far-left party Podemos, the junior partner in Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s coalition government.

In a joint statement the parties said police had accused Badoui of “religious extremism” without providing proof.

The National Court also approved Thursday the deportation of another Moroccan, Amarouch Azbir, who is in charge of the Al Furquan mosque in the Catalan port of Vilanova i la Geltru.

He is also accused of promoting Salafism and was also arrested on Tuesday in a separate police operation.

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CRIME

Convicted rapist Dani Alves leaves Spain jail after posting bail

Convicted rapist and former Brazil international Dani Alves left a prison near Barcelona on Monday after posting the €1 million bail set by a court to ensure his release pending appeal.

Convicted rapist Dani Alves leaves Spain jail after posting bail

The 40-year-old has been in jail since his arrest in January 2023 on suspicion of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub in the early hours of December 31, 2022.

Wearing jeans and a black jacket, his face expressionless, Alves walked out of the Brians 2 prison in San Esteban Sasroviras near Barcelona with his lawyer, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

The former Barcelona player, one of the world’s most decorated footballers, was convicted last month and sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail, with his lawyers swiftly moving to file an appeal.

But in a surprise move, the court agreed last Wednesday to conditionally release him in exchange for posting a €1 million ($1.08 million) bail, handing over his Spanish and Brazilian passports, staying in Spain and presenting himself to court every week.

Alves had tried to make bail several times since his arrest but his requests were turned down on the basis he was a flight risk since Brazil does not extradite citizens sentenced in other countries. Alves’ lawyers are seeking his acquittal, and the appeal process could take months to complete

Prosecutors, however, want his prison sentence doubled to nine years. They and the victim’s lawyer Ester Garcia have appealed the decision to grant Alves bail.

“This sends the message that this is justice for the rich, and even if there is a conviction, if you pay bail there are no criminal consequences,” she told reporters last week.

“It’s a very dangerous message for society,” she added, saying her client was “totally outraged, very despondent and very frustrated”.

Brazil’s Lula slams bail deal

The court’s decision to free Alves was also robustly criticised by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“We cannot stay silent in the face of this injustice,” he said on Thursday, stressing that money “cannot undo the crime that a man commits by raping a woman”.

“When sex is something between two people, it has to be agreed to by both of them,” and if not, that constitutes “a crime”, he said.

During the trial, the victim, who testified behind a screen to protect her identity, said Alves had violently forced her to have sex despite begging him to let her go, causing her “anguish and terror”, according to prosecutors present for her declaration.

Alves’ lawyers had argued the victim had been “glued” to the player while dancing at the nightclub, saying there was “sexual tension” between them. But in its 61-page decision, the court said that did not mean “that she consented to anything that might have subsequently happened”.

Spain’s leftist government passed a new in 2022 that strengthens the country’s penal code against rape by requiring explicit consent for sex acts, a move long demanded by assault survivors and women’s rights groups.

Alves is widely considered one of the greatest defenders of all time, having won 42 trophies. The peak of his career was with Barcelona between 2008 and 2016, alongside Lionel Messi, when he won 23 trophies.

At the time of his arrest, he was contracted to Mexican club Pumas UNAM. He was sacked soon after being detained

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