Arrested in Casablanca on an Extradition Request or Red Notice: First Steps and Which Court Decides

Identify the legal basis, request a lawyer and interpreter, preserve papers, and tell family and consulate where the person is held. Treaty deadlines depend on the requesting state and alleged offence.

What happens first at Mohammed V Airport?

Mohammed V is Casablanca’s main international airport. Official information identifies the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and the Interior Ministry’s Directorate of Immigration and Border Surveillance in border operations. An airport coordination centre announced in January 2026 includes DGSN, the Royal Gendarmerie, customs and the airport operator; this does not prove one squad handles every extradition arrest.

The current framework is Morocco’s Code of Criminal Procedure (Code de procédure pénale, Law No. 22.01), as amended by Law No. 03.23, which entered into force on 8 December 2025.

Article 729 allows a Crown Prosecutor or deputy to order urgent provisional arrest after a direct request from the requesting state’s judicial authorities or a notification from INTERPOL or another accepted channel. The notice may be sent by mail or a faster means that leaves a written or material trace of a document of the type listed in Article 726(1). A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, though a qualifying notification can trigger provisional arrest under Moroccan law. Article 729 also requires the formal request to be sent at the same time through diplomatic channels to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Crown Prosecutor must immediately notify the President of the Public Prosecution (Président du Ministère public), who then informs the Minister of Justice and the prosecution service at the Court of Cassation.

Ask for the arresting service, document or notice, arrest time, prosecutor and custody location. The law names no dedicated airport unit or guaranteed first holding facility. Counsel should confirm the court and prosecutor from the custody record.

The first 24 hours: the initial interview is a statutory deadline

Article 730 requires presentation to the Crown Prosecutor or deputy within 24 hours. The prosecutor checks identity, explains the basis and records the interview. This extradition deadline differs from ordinary police-custody rules.

Which court decides, and why is Rabat involved?

The Court of Cassation gives the central extradition opinion, but the process does not begin there. Casablanca is the arrest location, not the court giving that opinion. If the person invokes the statutory procedure, the local prosecutor forwards the papers to the Prosecutor-General at the Court of Cassation (Procureur général du Roi près la Cour de cassation), who refers the case to its Criminal Chamber.

The Criminal Chamber gives a reasoned opinion after hearing the person, who may have counsel, and can order further inquiry. Article 731 requires prompt transfer to the prison at the Court of Cassation’s seat in Rabat. The route is: Mohammed V Airport → arresting service/local prosecutor → prison in Rabat → Criminal Chamber → Ministry of Justice →, if favourable, surrender decree. Confirm the first station and prosecutor from the custody record.

A favourable opinion is not the surrender decree: under Article 737, the Minister of Justice may propose a decree by the Head of Government. A negative opinion is final and prevents surrender on that request; release follows unless another legal basis exists, and the nationwide sequence and executive stage are covered in the Morocco country guide.

Which deadlines should the family record?

Article 733 permits an application to the Court of Cassation for release if the formal request and Article 726 documents do not arrive within 30 days of provisional arrest on a neighbouring state's request; for a non-neighbouring state, that period may be extended by one month, and missing supplementary information requested under Article 728 may also matter. The Court must decide an Article 733 application within eight days, and the applicable treaty and any deadline set for supplementary information must be checked; Article 737 separately provides for release if, within one month after diplomatic notice of a surrender decree, the requesting state either fails to take necessary collection steps or fails to justify the delay adequately, in which case the person may not be sought again for the same acts; Articles 734 and 737-1 provide distinct additional routes—see the Morocco remedies page for their conditions and limits.

Do not sign a surrender consent just to get through the interview

Under Article 730, the person may waive the statutory procedure and expressly consent to surrender. The record is signed by the person, counsel if present, and the Crown Prosecutor; once authenticated, it cannot be withdrawn. Article 735 separately addresses consent before the Chamber. This differs from acknowledging a notice or answering identity questions.

Before signing, request a lawyer, interpreter and copy. If you already signed, tell counsel what it said, who was present and whether you understood it. Changing your mind later does not automatically reverse formal consent.

What should the family and foreign lawyer do now?

First locate the person and preserve the record. Family abroad can collect identity details and foreign papers while local counsel verifies custody.

• Record the passport name, birth details, nationality, passport and flight numbers, arrival time, and exact arrest time and place.
• Ask for the arresting service, custody or case number, prosecutor, first-instance court and current detention location. Note who gave the information and when.
• Send counsel identity documents, any notice or warrant, the foreign case number, court papers and a short travel/contact chronology.
• Provide translations, proof of nationality and any record that the warrant was withdrawn, suspended, replaced or satisfied. Preserve originals unchanged.
• Request consular notification. Under Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the authorities must inform the consular post without delay if the detained person requests it, and must inform the person without delay of this right. Consular officers may communicate with and visit the person and help arrange representation. This does not replace a Moroccan lawyer.
• List urgent medication, health and language needs. Once the detention location is confirmed, ask counsel how to send documents and arrange visits.

Does an INTERPOL notice mean that surrender is already decided?

No. INTERPOL describes a Red Notice as a request to locate and provisionally arrest someone based on a national arrest warrant or court order; it is not an international warrant or proof of guilt. Article 729 may permit provisional arrest on a qualifying notification. A Red Notice is not the formal extradition request. Removal of a notice does not by itself prove that the national warrant or extradition request has been withdrawn; counsel should verify each separately.

Morocco is not an EU Member State, so the European Arrest Warrant does not govern a Casablanca arrest. Morocco is not listed as a party to the European Convention on Extradition. The basis may be the Code plus a bilateral or offence-specific multilateral treaty. The requesting state and alleged offence are needed to identify the treaty and reservations.

A hypothetical example: the airport is the start, not the deciding court

Hypothetically, a Georgian national is stopped at Mohammed V Airport on a foreign Red Notice. Authorities identify the underlying document and prosecutor; the person is brought before the Crown Prosecutor within 24 hours. If they do not consent to surrender and invoke the statutory procedure, the file goes to the Prosecutor-General and Criminal Chamber in Rabat. Counsel records the referral date for the five-day clock, while family confirms transfer and consular notification.

Where to read the wider procedure

This page covers only the airport arrest and immediate transfer. For the Court of Cassation stage, read the Rabat procedure page; the Red Notice guide explains its general legal effect.

The site’s team coordinates cross-border defence with local counsel. Start through the contact request page.