A Moroccan citizen who was detained in the south of Tenerife in 2018 and investigated by the National Police for his alleged involvement in the jihadist indoctrination of a countryman is trying to prevent the Spanish State from revoking his long-term residence permit and applying an expulsion order from Spain. He argues that a ruling by the Central Investigating Court number 6 in Madrid decreed provisional dismissal and the closure of the case in December 2018 for him and two other countrymen, as no evidence or proof was found that they were involved in indoctrination activities, glorification of terrorist actions, or dissemination of similar content. This was also requested by the prosecutor in the proceedings.
Therefore, lawyer Gisela García filed an administrative appeal in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to prevent the Immigration Office from enforcing the measure. The lawyer points out that her client has a partner and two children, all three of Spanish nationality.
García requests that the judicial authority suspend the Resolution issued on April 23 by the Government Sub-delegation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In the appeal, she notes that the aforementioned body does not have the competence to issue such a measure, and furthermore, it would cause serious and irreparable damage to her client, who has no criminal record, has been residing in Spain for 17 years, and lives with his wife and two minors.
According to the lawyer, the State Government is applying Article 54 of the Immigration Law for very serious offences, even though there was no verdict and after the case against the mentioned Moroccan citizens settled in Tenerife was closed. She believes that this violates a fundamental right such as the presumption of innocence, which is subject to constitutional protection.
Article 54.1.a of the Immigration Law considers it a very serious offence to participate in activities contrary to national security or that may harm Spain’s relations with other countries, or be involved in activities contrary to public order (…). The judge in Madrid determined that the suspicions the national police had about the three detainees in San Isidro (Granadilla) in May 2018 did not go beyond that, as no evidence was presented to prove that they had committed any crimes.
The lawyer believes that “the administrative measure (revocation of residence permit and expulsion), based on an unproven fact, not only appears unjust, illegal, and arbitrary, but also lacks motivation.” She clarifies that, in the hypothetical case that her client’s involvement in activities contrary to national security had been proven, the sanctioning authority should fall under the Ministry of State Security, not the Government Sub-delegation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
She points out that the case dates back to 2018 and that over these eight years her client has been working, contributing to Social Security, living peacefully with his family, with no criminal record in Spain or his country of origin.
She also argues that the proposed expulsion violates constitutional principles, such as the right to family life, rights of the child, and effective judicial protection. Another proposal by Gisela García is that the revocation of residence and expulsion from the country for her client can be replaced with a less severe action, based on the personal circumstances of the affected individual. She suggests that continuing with the process would lead this person to an irregular situation. She notes that his income is the sole financial support for the family. LA PROVINCIA tried to obtain a response from the Government Sub-delegation, as well as whether there is any other offence for which the residence permit should be revoked and expulsion ordered, but this information was not available.
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