Ahmed Samsam formally seeks retrial in Spanish terrorism case

Ahmed Samsam, a former agent for Denmark’s intelligence services, has formally applied to have his terrorism case in Spain reopened, DR reports.

His Danish lawyer, René Offersen, announced the application on LinkedIn.

In 2025, Denmark’s Supreme Court ruled that the intelligence services PET and FE had to confirm that Samsam had worked for them. It was the first time the court had ordered the services to make such a confirmation.

A Spanish court sentenced Samsam to eight years in prison in 2018 for terrorism and for fighting in Syria for a group that was a precursor to Islamic State. Samsam has consistently maintained that he was in Syria on a mission for the Danish intelligence services.

He is now seeking to use the confirmation from FE and PET to have his Spanish case reopened.

“I can confirm that today, on behalf of Ahmed Samsam, I submitted an application to reopen the criminal case. It is a strong application, with the Supreme Court’s remarkable judgment as its central pillar. I am certainly optimistic and believe that Ahmed Samsam will receive a new examination of his case,” his Spanish lawyer, Benet Sallelas Vilar, said in a statement quoted by Offersen.

“I will not predict the timetable and have told Ahmed Samsam that he must be patient,” Vilar said.

According to Offersen, FE and PET have received valuable information from the intelligence services. However, Samsam has not received everything he requested.

“Ahmed Samsam has not received all the information he requested, which he naturally considers objectionable given his compelling interests in having a fully documented application to reopen the case,” Offersen said.