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Date Published: 29/06/2022

ARCHIVED - Investigation opened into dozens of deaths at Spain-Morocco border in Melilla

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Around 500 people stormed the border separating Spain's Melilla enclave from Morrocco last Friday June 24

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Investigation opened into dozens of deaths at Spain-Morocco border in Melilla

Spain's Prosecutors' Office has opened an investigation over dozens of deaths after a mass attempt to scale the border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla left at least 23 people dead.

According to Spanish officials, more than 2,000 Africans made their way to the perimeter at 6.40am on Friday June 24, with around 500 actually making it to the border control area after cutting an opening in fencing with shears.

🇪🇸🇲🇦 Más de 2.500 personas han intentado esta mañana saltar la valla de Melilla desde Marruecos. 491 de ellos han conseguido acceder a territorio español, según informa la delegada del gobierno en la ciudad autónoma, Sabrina Moh. pic.twitter.com/7fBQOC80S6
— Descifrando la Guerra (@descifraguerra) March 2, 2022

Some 133 people managed to force their way through fencing at around 8.30am, 57 of whom were injured with three needing to be hospitalised.

Around 50 Spanish police officers were also hurt in the "stampede", and Moroccan officials initially said five people had died. This figure had risen to 23 by Saturday evening, but Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the ground said the death toll could be significantly higher.

“We’ve confirmed 37 deaths in the Melilla tragedy,” said Helena Maleno Garzón, whose organisation, Walking Borders, is in constant contact with Africans seeking to cross into Spain from Morocco.

Immediately, human rights campaigners in Spain and Morocco called for probes in both countries and the former's Prosecutors' Office confirmed on Thursday June 28 that an investigation into the death of "several dozen people on the Melilla border" will be opened and carried out by the Specialised Immigration Prosecutor.

According to Dolores Delgado, Attorney General, the decision to launch a probe into the deaths is based on "the significance and seriousness of the events that occurred, which could affect human rights and the fundamental rights of people, as well as the uniqueness and complexity of the investigation".

The scope of the investigation remains to be seen, bearing in mind that the deaths, "possible crimes and the injuries of police officers" took place in Moroccan territory.

For their part, the Algerian authorities have described the death of "more than 30 people" as a "massacre".

Amar Belani, the country's foreign minister, said that "the images of this massacre are extremely shocking, they provide information on the extreme brutality and disproportionate use of force that are similar, given the circumstances, to real summary executions".

In Spain, hundreds of people demonstrated in cities across the country against migration policies in the aftermath of the tragedy. In Madrid, a rally was held in Callao, where hundreds of people chanted "no human being is illegal".

Another rally is scheduled to take place in Murcia at 8.30pm this evening (Wednesday June 29) to protest against the "racist murders at the Melilla fence".

The rally will take place outside the Government Delegation, organised by the Association of Moroccan Immigrant Workers (ATIM), the Federation of African Associations of Murcia (FaAM) and Murcia Acoge

In a statement adressed to Spain's President, Pedro Sánchez, ATIM claimed "the culprits are not the mafias that traffic people, however despicable their work may be. The culprits of these deaths are the politicians who traffic in human rights, who sell their obligations in exchange for a plate of repression and control of migrants from the African continent".

The reproach follows Sánchez's comments following the storming in which he reportedly defended the actions of Moroccan authorities at the border and said that those "responsible" for what happened at the border are "the mafias that traffic in human beings".

Friday's incident is the biggest mass attempt since March when Melilla experienced a record illegal entry; some 900 people managed to enter the city in two days.

Back in March, Spanish police were accused of brutality in Melilla after a video showed officers pepper-spraying an unarmed boy.

Image: Archive

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