Summary
The Number Two of Moroccan Espionage Flees Spain After Rabat Requests His Extradition
Hijaouy took refuge in Spain until the CNI encouraged him to turn himself in, advising him that it was preferable to return to Morocco voluntarily and as soon as possible. He is now missing and on the run after failing to appear before the National Court.
Dozens of Agents Abroad
The Number Two of Moroccan Espionage Flees Spain After Rabat Requests His Extradition
Hijaouy took refuge in Spain until the CNI encouraged him to turn himself in, advising him that it was preferable to return to Morocco voluntarily and as soon as possible. He is now missing and on the run after failing to appear before the National Court.
Mehdi Hijaouy, who for several years held the position of “number two” in Morocco’s foreign intelligence service and even served as its acting chief for a time, sought refuge in Spain after fleeing France, where he had been closely monitored by unidentified agents. As soon as he set foot in Madrid, Rabat requested his extradition from Spanish authorities, but he chose not to appear before the National Court. He is now wanted and on the run. In Paris, even his wife and newborn daughter had been under surveillance in the streets.
Last July, Moroccan authorities finally reconciled with those of France, and Mehdi Hijaouy feared that this renewed friendship between governments would ultimately harm him. This is when his Spanish escape began. At 52 years old, Hijaouy was well-acquainted with the methods of the Directorate General for Studies and Documentation (DGED), Morocco’s foreign intelligence agency. He had worked for them for nearly two decades, eventually becoming the deputy to its director. For a time, he even acted as its de facto leader when its director, Yassin Mansouri, took a long leave due to depression.
The son of a well-known general in the Moroccan Army, Hijaouy joined the DGED in 1994. The agency sent him abroad multiple times for training. He interned with the CIA in clandestine operations, trained with the « action service » of France’s Directorate General for External Security (DGSE), learned interrogation techniques from Israel’s Shin Bet (internal security), and counterespionage from the Mossad, according to sources familiar with his background. His career is a deep dive into Morocco’s recent intelligence history.
The « Number Two » Led Operations in Spain
Hijaouy participated in or directed numerous operations, many of them in Spain, such as recruiting politicians and journalists to advocate for Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara and to highlight alleged links between the Polisario Front and terrorist groups. He also orchestrated demonstrations at the gates of Ceuta and Melilla to assert their « Moroccan identity. » Additionally, he fought aggressively, alongside the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, to gain control over the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities, which oversees hundreds of mosques in Spain.
However, most of his efforts were focused on neighboring Algeria, attempting to stir separatist movements in the Kabylie region. Despite Moroccan espionage’s extensive activities in Spain, Spanish authorities have rarely intervened to halt the DGED’s operations. The only notable exception occurred in April 2013 when General Félix Sanz-Roldán, then director of the CNI, filed a complaint against Noureddin Ziani, a Moroccan preacher in Catalan mosques who was allegedly pushing Muslims toward supporting the Catalan independence movement led by Artur Mas. Sanz-Roldán accused him of « threatening national security » and being « a significant collaborator of a foreign intelligence service since 2000, » referring to the DGED. Ziani was expelled from Spain the following month.
While Moroccan intelligence collaborators have occasionally been arrested, tried, and sentenced in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and even France (albeit with mild sentences), Spain has never taken similar actions—except in the case of Youssef El A. He was arrested after German authorities issued a European arrest warrant, suspecting him of spying on the Rif exile community on behalf of the DGED. He was extradited to Frankfurt on January 15.
In Spain, even high-ranking officials such as former Interior Minister Jorge Fernández (PP) and current Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares (PSOE) have granted interviews, participated in events, and been photographed with Ahmed Charai—a media businessman and, according to a 2015 court ruling, a public relations representative for the DGED. Charai also spread a false rumor in 2008 that Rachida Dati, then French Minister of Justice, was pregnant with former Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar’s child. He was ordered in 2011 to compensate Aznar with 90,000 euros.
Morocco Knew Where He Was
Shortly after settling in Madrid, Hijaouy was in for a shock—Moroccan authorities knew his whereabouts. In September, they formally requested his location and arrest from Spanish justice as part of extradition proceedings on three charges, according to case file 61/2024: criminal organization membership, fraud, and promoting « illegal migration. » Rabat frequently includes migration-related accusations when seeking extradition, assuming Spanish judges are particularly sensitive to this issue.
The case landed on the desk of Judge Luis Francisco de Jorge Mesas of the Central Court of Instruction No. 1 of the National Court. A former justice counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Rabat, the magistrate did not order Hijaouy’s imprisonment but granted him provisional release. In his ruling on September 12, he imposed precautionary measures such as passport confiscation and mandatory biweekly check-ins with the police. However, Hijaouy failed to appear in court on November 7 and again on November 21. Five days later, the judge issued an arrest warrant for him, seeking his detention and imprisonment to facilitate his extradition. Spanish police could not locate him, suspecting he had already fled with help from old contacts in various European intelligence services.
Hijaouy could have attended his hearings with his lawyer, a well-known criminal attorney. Given his family ties in Madrid, it was unlikely the judge would have ordered his immediate extradition. However, an unexpected meeting spurred him to flee.
On October 28, the CNI summoned him for an informal conversation. He had been called before, but this time, to his surprise, two Moroccan intelligence agents were present alongside the Spanish officials. The message was clear: whether willingly or unwillingly, he would end up back in Morocco. Returning voluntarily and quickly was the best option. It is possible that CNI Director Esperanza Casteleiro sought to curry favor with Moroccan authorities by pressuring him to return.
Why Did Hijaouy Fall from Grace?
This is not the first time Hijaouy has been in trouble, though this time it is far more serious. A decade ago, he was fired from the DGED, possibly due to a letter that several agents sent to King Mohammed VI, complaining that the service was « now in the hands of an incompetent individual, Mehdi Hijaouy, of dubious reputation. » The letter was revealed by Hicham Jerando, a Moroccan YouTuber exiled in Canada.
After three years in the wilderness, Fouad Ali El Himma, Morocco’s true political power broker, reinstated him after encountering him at a funeral. He appointed him as his security advisor in 2017. While he no longer ran operations, he had access to intelligence from both the DGED and Morocco’s secret police, led by Abdellatif Hammouchi.
Hijaouy also had ties to the Azaitar brothers, Moroccan-German martial artists who became part of King Mohammed VI’s inner circle. His public defense of them angered the king’s advisors, who had been trying to push them out. This, combined with his self-initiated « white paper » on restructuring Morocco’s security apparatus, may have sealed his fate.
Fearing for his safety, Hijaouy fled to Spain, where he remained until Rabat’s extradition request surfaced—at which point, he vanished.
El Confidencial, 02/02/2025
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