Rabat - The French Constitutional Council has validated the decision to strip a binational jihadist of his French nationality after he was convicted of terrorism offences.
France's top legal body ruled on Friday that stripping Ahmed Sahnouni, a Moroccan naturalized by France in 2003, of his French nationality was legal after his lawyer reportedly challenged the decision.
Sahnouni's lawyer was quoted as saying that the law creates inequalities between those who are French by birth and those who are naturalized.
"Are some French people more French than others?" he said, adding that the move to fight terrorism by stripping people of their nationality was solely done to appease public opinion."
The order to strip Ahmed Sahnouni of his French nationality was signed by the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and the Interior Minister Bernanrd Cazeneuve.
The decision comes following the deadly attacks on the Paris offices of satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo and at a time the relations between France and Morocco are strained.
Born in Casablanca in 1970, Ahmed Sahnouni was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2013 over terrorism charges.
Under French law authorities can strip binationals of their naturalized citizenship if they are convicted of "terror offences".
However, stripping the French nationality turns illegal if it is going to make them stateless.