An illegal Moroccan immigrant convicted of rape managed to obtain permanent residence papers in Spain

The controversy settled again in Spain after it became known that an immigrant of Moroccan origin convicted of a particularly violent rape managed to keep his long-term residence permit in the country. The court decision annulled the expulsion order that had been issued against him, despite the seriousness of the facts that were established in the criminal case. The decision, advanced by the newspaper Segre, was adopted by the Superior Court of Justice of La Rioja, which concluded that the necessary conditions are not met to expel him from the country.

According to the ruling, in his current situation, men do not represent a “real, current and sufficiently serious” threat to public order, an interpretation that has revived the political debate on migration policy and the system's response to crimes of rape.

The origin of the case dates back to a ruling handed down in 2014 by the Provincial Court of Lérida, which sentenced the immigrant to seven and a half years in prison for rape, a sexual assault described in the process as especially violent. In addition to that penalty, other sanctions were added: one and a half years of additional imprisonment and a financial fine for a crime of obstruction of justice. The proven facts revealed particularly serious behavior even after the court case had begun. According to the sentence, after being charged with the rape, the man tried to pressure the victim inside a shopping mall to withdraw the complaint. At that meeting, he offered him money and also issued threats if he did not agree to desist from the judicial process, a direct attempt to interfere with the investigation and the progress of the

case.

Despite the conviction for a crime of rape and the maneuvers to stop the case, the Superior Court of Justice of La Rioja assessed his subsequent situation. The convicted person has been living in Spain for more than 19 years, has more than 15 years of working life and is the father of a minor with Spanish nationality. In addition, he lives with his partner - also of Moroccan origin and with legal residence - and with his daughter, without any family conflicts or new crimes after having served his sentence. Once his sentence ended in October 2019, the man moved to La Rioja, where he took up residence. He continued his life there until, in 2024, during a police identification on the street where he lives, the expulsion file began. This proceeding was opened more than a decade after the rape conviction and several years after serving the prison sentence

.

The Government Delegation then decided to move forward with the expulsion based on a police report that indicated that his criminal record — especially the conviction for rape — could pose a security risk. This position was initially supported by a contentious-administrative court in Logroño, which understood that such a serious conviction should be considered within the assumptions affecting public order. However, the Superior Court of Justice of La Rioja corrected that criterion. In his resolution, he stressed that when it comes to long-term residents, it is not enough to invoke a criminal record, even if they are crimes as serious as rape. According to the court, it is mandatory to carry out an individualized and proportional analysis of each

case.

The ruling also recalls that expulsion represents a significant limitation of fundamental rights and a profound alteration of the life of the affected person, a central argument for annulling the measure adopted by the administration. Another key point of the ruling is that, according to the court, there is no evidence of recidivism since the events for which he was convicted or after serving his sentence. This element was considered decisive to maintain that it does not currently represent a specific danger. With this resolution, the indefinite residence permit that the immigrant had since 2013, when it was granted after complying with the legal requirements for prolonged stay in Spain, is consolidated in practice

.

The case strongly reopens the debate on the response of the European judicial and migration system to crimes with a high social impact such as rape. It also revives the discussion about the extent to which criminal records should weigh when deciding to expel foreign citizens who have already served their sentences, in a political context that is increasingly critical to the management

of immigration in Europe.