Melilla tragedy: Amnesty International accuses Spain and Morocco of cover-up

The non-governmental organization Amnesty International yesterday described the deaths of dozens of migrants and refugees who tried to cross into European territory at the end of June, in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, as a “mass slaughter” and accused the governments in Madrid and Rabat of trying to hide the truth. .

“We are here today to talk about a mass slaughter, about enforced disappearances, about torture, about discrimination, about racism, about a violation of the principle of non-refoulement. All this on European soil”, summarized Amnesty’s General Secretary, Anies Kalamar, presenting the organization’s report on the tragedy in Madrid.

These are “violations of international law”, he continued, accusing the Spanish and Moroccan authorities of “covering up” the “murders”, “concealing” the truth, almost six months after the events.

According to the report by the NGO, which gathered testimonies from migrants and refugees present on June 24 at Morocco’s border with Melilla, analyzed video and satellite images, “the methods used by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities (… ) contributed to the death of at least 37 people”.

The official count of the Moroccan authorities spoke of 23 dead.

Furthermore, Amnesty underlined that 77 migrants still remain “missing”, even today.

“Certain actions by Spanish and Moroccan police officers, such as beating immobilized, downed, unconscious people (…), refusing to provide emergency medical care to the injured, repeatedly using tear gas against people in places where they could not were able to escape, it may be a violation of the right not to be subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment”, reports Amnesty.

In a press release, Spain’s Ministry of the Interior “categorically rejected” the “unproven accusations” of torture, which it described as “absolutely false”.

On June 24, nearly 2,000 irregular migrants and refugees, most of them nationals of Sudan, an impoverished country wracked by conflict and political crisis, attempted to cross into the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Morocco’s northern coast.

It is estimated that the death toll of this episode is the heaviest ever recorded in the attempts of immigrants and refugees to enter this enclave, as well as in Ceuta, another Spanish enclave. In these two regions are the EU’s only external borders on the African continent.

The tragedy sparked an international outcry, with the UN condemning the use of “excessive force” by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities.

Like Amnesty, independent experts investigating on behalf of the UN Human Rights Council reported at least 37 deaths in late October, denouncing a complete lack of accountability in both Spain and Morocco.

Two investigations that saw the light of day in November, the first by the BBC, the second by the European consortium Lighthouse Reports, with the participation of the Spanish newspaper El País and the French Le Monde, spoke of “barbaric” practices on the part of Moroccan forces, while they raised many questions about how the Spanish forces acted.

They also claimed at least one migrant death on Spanish soil — something the Spanish Interior Ministry, at the heart of the case, has repeatedly denied.

In a letter last Friday to NGOs, obtained by AFP, Spain’s independent human rights watchdog called the Interior Ministry’s explanations “inadequate” at this stage.

The Moroccan government after the tragedy blamed the migrants themselves for it, claiming that they used “extreme violence” against the security forces. According to the authorities, they took at least one police officer “hostage”.

Rabat has not yet reacted to the report released yesterday by Amnesty.

RES-EMP

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