Six Moroccans Return Home After Acquittal in Somalia ISIS Case

CASABLANCA, Morocco — Six Moroccan men who were cleared by courts in Somalia’s Puntland State State of Somalia have returned to Morocco after spending more than two years behind bars, according to relatives and human rights advocates on Monday.

The men landed at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca last week, only to be taken into custody by Moroccan authorities for questioning about how they traveled to Somalia and the events that followed, family members and campaign groups said.

From the airport, they were transferred to the headquarters of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations in Salé, where officials are carrying out what relatives described as standard inquiries.

Their repatriation came through Moroccan diplomatic channels, with the journey routed through Ethiopia and Egypt, the Joint Committee for the Defense of Islamist Detainees said.

Authorities in Puntland State arrested the six Moroccans in early 2024 in the Cal Miskaad mountain range, accusing them of trying to join ISIS fighters based in the area.

In March 2024, a military court in Bosaso handed down death sentences by firing squad, but those rulings were later overturned on appeal, and Somali courts ultimately acquitted the men of all charges.

Their families maintain that the men went to Somalia after being misled by offers of jobs, and they reject any suggestion that the group had ties to militant organizations.

“Their legal status is clear; they were acquitted by the Somali judiciary,” said Abderrahim Ghazali, spokesperson for the joint committee supporting the detainees.

In a statement, the relatives thanked Moroccan authorities for helping bring the men home after what they described as harsh detention conditions overseas.

Rights groups have called on Moroccan officials to release the six men once questioning ends, pointing to the long period they spent detained in Somalia and the strain on their families.

AXADLETM