Whilst the appeals following the sentence in the train bombings trial are now pending, it is worth recalling that there are still some accused of participation in the attack who have not yet faced trial. One of these,
Moutaz Almallah Dabas, is being held on remand in Spain following his extradition from the United Kingdom last year. He is the brother of Mouhannad Almallah Dabas, who was one of those convicted in the main trial.
There is now concern about the delay in bringing Almallah Dabas to trial for his part in the bombings. This is because he has already been held in prison for around 3 years if the period in the UK is included too, and Spanish law does not permit anyone to be held for longer than 4 years if they have not been convicted of an offence within that period. So it seems quite likely that the trial of Almallah Dabas will be held reasonably soon to try and avoid a situation where he must be released from prison.
There are also international detention orders in force against
Abdelilah Hriz (accused of being one of those who actively participated in the attack as a material author), and Hicham Ahmidan (accused of being part of the terrorist cell). Both of these are Morrocan citizens and are both currently in Morocco itself. This country does not extradite its citizens to Spain, so the Spanish authorities are attempting to persuade the Moroccan authorities to try them there for crimes committed on Spanish soil. In the meantime, the international orders remain in force in case either of the 2 men travels outside of Morocco.
