After two months, Mohamed el-Maadioui’s ordeal has come to an end. Finally, the National Court has lifted the precautionary measures against the 72-year-old man after he has been detained in Spain since February 28 after being confused with a French drug trafficker. The court has issued an order in which it archives the case opened against Mohammed after proving that he was not the person they were looking for. However, the Court avoids apologizing to the affected person nor does it admit any error.
The court returned his passport this Tuesday so that he can return to his country, Morocco. “We are already looking at flights for him to return home,” his nephew, Ahmed el-Maadioui, told La Vanguardia. “We are very happy. We finally have the feeling of freedom.”
The events occurred on February 18, when the National Police detained Mohamed at the El Prat airport when they saw that he shared the same name and date of birth as a French drug trafficker wanted.
After spending nine days in prison, the man was provisionally released with a ban on leaving Spain while waiting for France to rule out that he was the drug trafficker they were looking for. Now, the judge in the case has issued the final resolution confirming Mohamed’s innocence, allowing him to return to Nador, Morocco.
Although this time the outcome has had a happy ending, Mohamed and his family are still afraid of what may happen after this mishap. That is why from now on the man will travel with the National Court car under his arm. “We have already convinced him to always carry his phone with him,” his nephew joked, since at the time of the events, his uncle did not have a cell phone, which prevented him from calling his family to report the unfair arrest of him.
