The conflict surrounding 35-year-old Rayan from Tilburg, who has been held in a Spanish cell for fifty-one days on suspicion of terrorism, continues to intensify. The Spanish authorities suspect him of being a member of a terrorist cell in Arnhem. He himself says that he got into trouble because the Netherlands shared incorrect information with Spain. “I don’t understand what I did wrong and what got me into this situation. My life as I knew it was just destroyed.”
At the end of July, Rayan and his wife were on their way to Morocco for a holiday. After spending a night in a hotel in northern Spain, the Tilburg citizen was arrested.
At the police station, Rayan was told that he would pose a danger to Spanish national security and was banned from entering that country. During a hearing it was said that he was a member of an Islamic jihadist group from Arnhem. He has since been held in a detention center in Valencia.
“If you are in your emotion, everyone sees that.”
He spends his days in the courtyard in the heat, together with about fifty others. “We can get a deck of cards, a ball or a checkerboard. There is nothing else here,” he says when we call him. “There are three sinks, where everyone washes their clothes. Showering is done together, at fixed times, just like eating. The only place where you have privacy is in the toilet. When you are in your emotion, everyone sees That, that’s very difficult.”
Rayan shares his cell with five others. “There is no air conditioning or ventilation, only a small window that is open. There are three bunk beds and a toilet,” is how he describes the room.
Sometimes the atmosphere between the prisoners is grim. He unintentionally got involved in arguments or fights a few times. “It’s better to keep your mouth shut or you’ll get into trouble.”
After the arrest, his lawyer filed an appeal to have the Tilburg citizen released, but this was rejected by the judge. Further litigation is currently underway. “But I don’t really have any prospects of getting out of here at the moment,” he says somberly.
“My freedom, dignity and privacy have been taken away from me.”
The Tilburger has now lost ten kilos due to all the stress. He was also on hunger strike for some time, in protest, a cry for attention. His despair is great. “What should I do about this? How do I get myself off the Interpol lists and from the lists in all other countries that have adopted the alert? My freedom, dignity and privacy have been taken away from me. Everything is gone.”
He remains strong towards his family and friends. “I don’t want them to feel more miserable,” he says. “My wife is having a hard time. When we call each other and there is silence on the line, I know she has turned off the microphone so I don’t hear her sadness.”
According to the rules, people can be held at the detention center for a maximum of 60 days. The Tilburg citizen has pinned his hopes on that. “Maybe something will change soon and I will be released. That will be the first mountain top I have reached.”
“I can’t imagine what awaits me,” he says somberly. “Whether I will be able to resume my normal life, and whether people will still look me in the eye.”
Human rights organization Muslim Rights Watch (MRWN) announced on Wednesday that it is suing the Dutch state because the Tilburg citizen is being wrongly detained due to terrorism signals. The organization demands that the state take action. “The Public Prosecution Service, the police and the municipalities of Tilburg and Arnhem have confirmed that he is not suspected of anything. He has no criminal record, he has never had any dealings with the judiciary or the police,” says MRWN.
*For privacy reasons, we are not using Rayan’s real name.
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