Tragedy of Melilla migrants: Spain closes investigation, NGO criticizes 'unfair' sentencing in Morocco

A Moroccan non-governmental organization criticized on Saturday the “strict” sentences issued in Morocco without “convincing” evidence against many migrants, following the attempt of large numbers of them to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla in June.

“The verdicts were very harsh and unjust and support Morocco's immigration policies,” said Souad Lazreg, a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), on Saturday, when submitting a report on the trial.

On June 24, about 2,000 illegal immigrants, most of them from Sudan, tried to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla, located on the northern coast of Morocco.

This attempt, which led to confrontations between migrants and the police, left 23 people dead, according to the Moroccan authorities, while the Moroccan Association for Human Rights reported 27 people.

Morocco sentenced dozens of immigrants to prison terms ranging from two and a half to three years in the wake of these events.

They were tried on charges of “illegal entry into Moroccan territory,” “violence against law enforcement personnel,” or “armed gathering,” among other charges.

For its part, the Public Prosecution Office in Spain announced on Friday, December 23, that it had closed its investigation into the fall of 23 African immigrants while trying to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco on June 24.

The prosecution said in a statement that this decision came because it did not find “indications of wrongdoing by members of the Spanish security forces” during this tragedy.

The prosecution described the migrants as “hostile and violent” towards the Moroccan and Spanish police. It concluded that the Spanish police did not know that some of them needed medical assistance.

The human toll from this tragedy, which has sparked outrage in Morocco and abroad, is the most severe during one of the many attempts by nearly 2,000 migrants to cross the high fence separating Melilla from the border city of Nador in northern Morocco. This led to skirmishes with Moroccan security forces and Spanish border guards in the Melilla enclave, where nearly 100 managed to cross.

This incident sparked international condemnation. The United Nations condemned the “excessive use of force” by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities.

For its part, Amnesty International described on Tuesday, December 13, the killing of at least 23 migrants who tried to cross into the Spanish enclave of Melilla at the end of June as a “mass killing,” accusing Rabat and Madrid of concealing the truth.

“We are here today to report mass killings, enforced disappearances, acts of torture, discrimination and racism, a violation of the principle of non-refoulement. All of this on European soil,” said Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard during her presentation of a report on the incident.

She noted that all of these represent “violations of international law” and accused the Spanish and Moroccan authorities of seeking to “cover up the murders they committed” by “hiding” the truth about six months after the incident.

According to the report of the human rights organization, which collected a number of testimonies from migrants who were present on June 24 at the border between Morocco and Melilla and analyzed video clips and satellite images, “the methods used by the Moroccan and Spanish authorities... contributed to the death of at least 37 people.”

Amnesty asserts that 77 migrants are “still missing” since the tragedy.

Spain's Interior Ministry rejected the report, saying it contained “false allegations.”

Like Amnesty International, independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in late October reported at least 37 deaths. They denounced that neither Spain nor Morocco have taken responsibility for that.

In June, the 15 members of the UN Security Council failed to agree on a unified position on the tragedy.

Both Morocco and Spain denied using excessive force. Rabat said the deaths were caused by “a stampede and fall of migrants over a high fence,” adding that 140 police officers were wounded.