After nearly two years on the run, 26-year-old French-Algerian Sahbi El Asraoui was arrested on Friday, January 10, in Marrakech. New details have emerged about his background and the charges that prompted his inclusion in Interpol's files. Born in Besançon in 1999, El Asraoui had been on the run since March 8, 2023, the day he absconded from his trial for attempted murder in Planoise, Doubs. Convicted in absentia to seven years in prison for severely injuring a man in December 2020, he successfully evaded French authorities. El Asraoui was implicated in multiple violent incidents, including a shooting in Planoise in June 2023 that injured two individuals, and a deadly assault in Dijon in November 2023, according to France 3. The fugitive was finally captured in Morocco while using a forged French passport. Besançon public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux commended the Moroccan authorities for their cooperation in this international pursuit. France has submitted an extradition request and is now awaiting information on the procedural timelines. Upon his return, Sahbi El Asraoui is expected to be incarcerated to serve his original sentence and face new charges. The prosecutor described him as embodying «the high spectrum of delinquency», with a criminal career characterized by extreme violence.
