The Court of Cassation, a high-instance court in Morocco, decided on Tuesday, December 17, to release Egyptian doctor Abdel Basset El-Imam and return his passport after his arrest at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca. Moroccan authorities had arrested Abdel Basset El-Imam, who also holds Turkish citizenship, at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca on November 3, following an extradition request from the Egyptian authorities. Human rights organizations had previously indicated that the Egyptian judiciary issued a life sentence against him due to his political positions opposing the ruling regime and that his son was among the victims of the Rabaa massacre in Cairo in the summer of 2013. El-Imam celebrated the decision in a Facebook post on his page. «All thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Morocco, its government, and people... and all thanks and appreciation to the esteemed Moroccan judiciary», he wrote. He also thanked «all human rights associations, institutions, bodies, and individuals who contributed to defending freedoms and human rights».
