Boy Who Was Smuggled In Suitcase To Spain Has Been Allowed To Stay

The 8-year-old boy smuggled into Spain in a suitcase from Morocco was granted a temporary residence permit from the local government on Thursdayand has been allowed to stay. 

The boy, Adou Ouattara, 8, was on May 7, found curled up inside a suitcase at a border checkpoint in Ceuta. The suitcase was being taken through a pedestrian border crossing by a 19-year-old woman when a border security scanner detected him. Several hours later, his father, Ali, was arrested for trying to have the boy smuggled into the country.

 Ali and Adou's mother and sister live in Spain legally but his son lacked permission to join them there because their income was deemed too low.

Immigration authorities have now granted him temporary residence permit to live in Spain for one year so he can be reunited with his mother.

Photos: TIME