Bulgaria to extradite a Moroccan alleged terrorist it arrested in January

A Moroccan national wanted for terrorist activity was expatriated by Bulgarian authorities to the Kingdom, says Xinhua quoting a statement issued by the Bulgarian Interior ministry.

The 35-year-old man was arrested on January the 13th in the borders between Turkey and Bulgaria. He attempted to enter the country by mingling with a group of refugees who were requesting humanitarian assistance. The alleged terrorist presented a fake ID while carrying a Syrian identity that was found later in his luggage.

Appearing before a Bulgarian court, the arrestee claimed he was not a terrorist and said he had lived in Syria for four years with his family. His wife and children are currently in Morocco, says the Bulgarina news agency in a previous report.

For the record, the Moroccan citizen is wanted by the Kingdom via an Interpol arrest warrant for terrorism-related offenses.

Before the judge, the suspect confirmed that he was aware of the arrest warrant issued by his homeland.

In February, the Haskovo Regional Court gave its instruction on to keep the Moroccan national in custody for 90 days.

The spokesperson for the Bulgarian Prosecutor-General’s office, Roumyana Arnaudova announced, at the time, that the 90 days are set as a deadline for the extradition of the suspect to Morocco.

His lawyer, Anton Popov, said the man did not want to be extradited to Morocco because «he fears being killed in a prison».