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Marrakech – Spain’s highest court has upheld a 20-month prison sentence against a soldier stationed in the Spanish enclave of Melilla who relocated to the Moroccan city of Nador without informing his superiors or obtaining permission. The Military Chamber of the Supreme Court rejected the defense’s appeal and confirmed the ruling as final.
According to Spanish media reports, the soldier had received authorization to remain in Melilla while recovering from a traffic accident. During his medical leave, he was required to regularly update his unit on his health status and submit the corresponding medical documentation.
Starting in July of that year, however, the soldier stopped attending his scheduled medical checkups and ceased all communication with his unit. His superiors attempted to reach him by phone and through formal written notice via burofax at his authorized residence. None of these efforts produced a response.
The soldier later sent several medical reports written in French through WhatsApp. The documents referenced an accident he claimed to have suffered in Morocco and described physical limitations. The court found that none of these reports authorized his departure from Spanish “territory” or justified his failure to maintain contact with his chain of command.
The situation extended well beyond the initial period of absence. After a personal leave he requested in November 2023 expired, the soldier never returned to his post. He remained outside military oversight until December 2024, when he finally regularized his status.
In total, he spent over a year in Morocco with no authorized address and no communication with his superiors.
Investigators later established that the soldier had been living in Nador throughout this period. Court records also revealed that he made multiple trips through Nador’s international airport, including at least one to Germany.
The tribunal treated these movements as significant evidence, noting they were difficult to reconcile with the medical incapacity his reports described.
The defense presented a psychiatric evaluation conducted at the Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla in Madrid. The report diagnosed an adaptive anxiety disorder. Both the original military court and the Supreme Court concluded, however, that this condition did not eliminate or significantly diminish the soldier’s ability to understand and fulfill his professional obligations.
The original conviction was issued in December 2025 by the Second Territorial Military Court in Seville. It imposed two separate 10-month prison terms, along with suspension from military service and disqualification from public office and the right to stand for election.
The defense appealed on grounds of improper evidence evaluation, misapplication of the Military Penal Code, and insufficient consideration of personal circumstances.
The Supreme Court’s May 13, 2026 ruling dismissed all arguments and declared the prolonged, unjustified absence fully proven. The sentence is now final.
