The Netherlands and Morocco are exploring the options for an extradition treaty between the two countries, at the request of Morocco. That is what outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Knapen wrote to the House of Representatives. At the moment, the Netherlands does not have an official extradition treaty with the North African country.
The exploration is part of a broader ‘action plan’ between the Netherlands and Morocco, which the countries agreed in July. The plan aims to “strengthen dialogue and cooperation on topics of mutual interest”, such as security, police and justice, migration and trade.
Migration
According to Knapen, in the area of migration, for example, the countries have agreed to “improve cooperation on return” and to make better use of the existing possibilities for legal migration.
The theme of migration is a hot topic in relations between the Netherlands and Morocco. Two years ago, a cancellation of a conversation between the Moroccan ambassador and State Secretary Broekers-Knol of Justice and Security until a lot of criticism.
Morocco had canceled the conversation, which would be about the problems surrounding migration and taking back asylum seekers who had exhausted all legal remedies, at the last minute. Morocco hardly takes back nationals without the right to a residence permit in the Netherlands.
Omar Radi
In his letter, Minister Knapen also briefly discusses the issue of Moroccan journalist Omar Radi, who is being held in Morocco on suspicion of espionage for the Dutch embassy in Rabat. Partly on the basis of that charge, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
Knapen, who was recently accused of espionage has already rejected, now writes that the Netherlands raised the matter again last month during a summit meeting with Morocco. That conversation again “expressed displeasure at the allegations of espionage that we emphatically reject”.
–
