MADRID, July 22, 2008 (AFP) - A court in the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Morocco's northern coast handed down a 15-month suspended sentence to a Moroccan senator for resisting arrest, local media reported Tuesday.

The court however acquitted Yahya Yahya, a member of the Moroccan upper house, on July 2 of charges of assaulting his wife, regional daily newspaper Melilla Hoy reported.

In Spain any sentence below two years is automatically suspended unless the person has a prior conviction.

Prosecutors had requested that Yahya be sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison: one year for assault and 18 months for violently resisting arrest.

Police detained Yahya, an opponent of Spanish rule over Melilla and Ceuta, another enclave in northern Morocco, at his home in Melilla on October 9, 2006.

He was detained by police in November 2007 during a rally in Melilla against a visit to the two enclaves by Spanish King Juan Carlos.

Spain first settled Melilla in 1496 and Ceuta in 1580 but Morocco considers the two territories to be 'occupied'.