Former analyst denies sharing state secrets, calls allegations “misunderstanding”
The 66-year-old Abderrahim El M., suspected of leaking state secrets to the Moroccan intelligence service, describes the criminal case against him as “a misunderstanding.” On the first day of his trial on Tuesday, the former NCTV analyst maintained that he held the classified information to assist authorities, “not to share it with others.”
El M. is at the center of what the Public Prosecution Service describes as the largest espionage case in Dutch history. He was arrested at Schiphol Airport on October 26, 2023, just before departing for Morocco, with state secrets discovered in both his luggage and his Rotterdam home. He spent 20 months in pre-trial detention and, after initially remaining silent, eventually chose to answer questions and submitted an extensive written statement.
On Tuesday, the court questioned El M. for several hours. He insisted that he acted completely in good faith but admitted he should have been “more careful” and kept his documents “better organized.” The presiding judge commented that calling the case a misunderstanding is “a massive understatement of the situation.”
El M. claims he was authorized by his supervisors to take classified documents home. Rising tensions at the NCTV office, he said, forced him to work “under the radar” from home. His supervisors, however, have denied these assertions.
El M. is alleged to have passed state secrets to Morocco’s intelligence service. He traveled to Morocco regularly and, before each trip, printed and scanned classified documents. He claims the trips were for family reasons.
Some of El M.’s trips are believed to have been funded by the Moroccan intelligence service. He reportedly had high-level contacts within both the service and the Moroccan police. He was unable to answer all the court’s questions on this matter. The prosecution has submitted WhatsApp messages as part of the case, which are said to indicate that El M. shared information and conducted business with these contacts.
The District Court of Rotterdam will resume the case on Wednesday, when the prosecution is expected to deliver its sentencing recommendation. The court aims to conclude the trial by Friday.
Reporting by ANP
