A Birmingham-based imam accused of trying to recruit people to fight for Islamic State can be extradited to Spain to stand trial, a court has ruled.

Spanish authorities have accused Tarik Chadlioui, 43, of making and uploading propaganda videos encouraging people to fight for Isis forces in Syria during two visits to Mallorca in 2014 and 2015.

The Moroccan-born Belgian national, from Sparkhill in Birmingham, faces a charge of collaboration with, or membership of, an armed group, which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years if he is convicted.

His lawyers argued that extradition breached the father of eight’s human rights under article eight of the European convention on human rights, which guarantees a right to a family life. Westminster magistrates court was told that Chadlioui was the sole breadwinner for his family, who have been in the UK since 2015.

Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot rejected the claim, saying that the man’s family was eligible for benefits. She ruled on Tuesday that he could be extradited to Spain, saying there was a clear public interest in complying with the UK’s international extradition treaty obligations and “not being regarded as a foreign haven for those avoiding prosecution in foreign jurisdictions”.

“The family will be eligible for benefits and I would expect the mosques where the requested person has been preaching to support his family in these difficult circumstances,” said Arbuthnot.

“At worst, and I accept it might be a hardship, the oldest two children could go out and get jobs, they are 17 and 18 after all. I find that the seriousness of the offence and the public interest in upholding our extradition agreement outweigh the interference with Mr Chadlioui and his family’s rights.”

Chadlioui, who claims he is “an anti-terrorist preacher”, was remanded in custody and has seven days to apply to appeal against the decision. His lawyer, Malcolm Hawke, told the court: “His defence is that he has made thousands of these videos; why has he not been arrested in Belgium? If he was this Isis recruitment agent, this would have been picked up long before he came to the UK.”



Chadlioui, who ran a YouTube channel with over 16,000 subscribers, was one of six people arrested on 28 June in Mallorca and in the UK and Germany as part of a Spanish investigation into violent recruitment videos. All of those arrested were described as having Moroccan or dual Moroccan nationality.

The Spanish investigation started in 2015, when a series of videos appeared online showing how a young Muslim in Spain was recruited and sent to fight in Syria. Chadlioui is accused of travelling to Mallorca to steer a jihadist cell, which worked to recruit young people to travel to conflict zones to fight.