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German jailed in Morocco for terror offences
A German national arrested on the Afghan-Pakistani border was Thursday sentenced to 10 years in jail for terrorism offences by a court in Morocco, a judicial source said.
A German national arrested on the Afghan-Pakistani border was Thursday sentenced to 10 years in jail for terrorism offences by a court in Morocco, a judicial source said.
"His name is Mohamed Hajib, and he was arrested in September 2009 on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He was extradited to Germany, and then on the same day to Morocco," said the source.
Hajib, who is in his forties and of Moroccan origin, was charged with "forming a criminal band to prepare and commit terrorist acts" before the appeal court in Sale, a city neighbouring the capital Rabat.
"It is a harsh punishment. It is true he was arrested with a Kalashnikov when he tried to enter Afghanistan, but he said he bought it because of safety concerns in the country," his lawyer Mohammed Sebbar said.
"We will appeal this sentence," said Sebbar.
More than 2,000 Islamists have been arrested and convicted in Morocco since a series of attacks in Casablanca on May 16, 2003 that killed 45 people.
