Rabat – Spain’s National Court, the country’s highest judiciary body, recently sentenced two Moroccan nationals to a two-year prison term for inciting terrorism.
The accused had allegedly been under close surveillance since 2014, with Spanish authorities closely their online activity.
Fouad Bouchiman and Ilyass Chentouf, the two Moroccan nationals aged 27 and 20, respectively, are said to have posted and shared online content promoting terrorism and glorifying terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.
El Pais, commenting on the National Court’s press release about the topic, reported that Bouchiman and Chentouf had “jihadist files” in their electronic gadgets, which they latere published on Facebook.
Bouchiman is reported to have used “six or seven” different Facebook profiles in 2016, on which he reportedly expressed his support for terrorism, condoning violence and glorifying Daesh in his posts, according to El Pais. “Victory will come from the hands of the Emir of believers, Bakr al Bahgdadi,” read one of his posts, with El Pais pointing to the fact that even Moroccan’s profile picture featured a popular Daesh fighter.
For his part, Ilyass Chentouf is said to have praised Bin Laden, the famed Al-Qaida leader killed by American Special Forces in 2011. “May Allah have mercy upon you, oh lion of jihad,” read one of Chentouf’s numerous posts supporting jihadism.
Despite the court’s condemnation of the two Moroccans, it stressed that “there was no proof that the accused were involved in activities of terrorist organizations, or were in touch with members of a terrorist cell.”
The court’s verdict specified that Bouchiman and Chentouf are sentenced for “ideological radicalization,” which entails sharing violent content and condoning terrorist beliefs or ideas. The court, however, acquitted the accused “terrorist charges,” as they “had no intention to travel to combat zones or recruit others to do so.”
