On June 24th 2022, approximately two thousand people tried to enter Spain by climbing the high chain-link fences surrounding Melilla, one of two Spanish enclaves in North Africa. Most of them were Sudanese and South Sudanese. After a lot of investigations, there were videos and photographs that showed how bodies laid on the ground covered in pools of blood, how the Moroccan police were beating people and how the Spanish Guardia Civil used teargas on the refugees when they tried cling onto and jump the fences. In short, they used excessive force. Later on, the local authorities have confirmed that at least 23-37 people passed away and dozens of people were injured as a result of the tragedy that happened.
Flowers are laid in Madrid in memory of the at least twenty-three people who passed away during the crossing from Morocco. Photograph: Pablo Blázquez Domínguez/Getty
A report from Amnesty International accuses both the Moroccan and Spanish authorities of failing to provide basic first aid to the refugees that were injured. After they were crushed by the masses, they were also left in the heat of the sun for about eight hours long. The Moroccan authorities thus prioritised moving the corpses and treating their police officials instead of helping the refugees who were injured and needed help.
The public prosecutors in Spain had opened an investigation into the deaths, meanwhile just across the border in Morocco, there were officials that began a crackdown. They prosecuted sixty-five people who had taken part in the crossing over accusations of igniting fires, attacking security forces and facilitating illegal border crossings. Furthermore, hundreds of migrants were also shuttled away from the border and dropped at different points in Morocco’s interior. The Moroccan Association of Human Rights has come to its conclusion that the officials in Morocco tried to cover up the deaths. This because of the fact that six days after this horrific tragedy, zero autopsies have been carried out and there had been no efforts to identify the refugees who passed away.
What is even more concerning, is that as of January 2023, the Moroccan Court has increased the sentences of thirteen migrants by six months to three years over a deadly attempted crossing into the Spanish enclave of Melilla. The court claims that they are guilty of: "participation in a criminal gang of clandestine immigration", illegal entry to Morocco and violence against law enforcement officials.
Lastly, the European Court of Human Rights has made it clear in several cases involving border control that states are allowed to take certain measures to prevent unauthorised entry into their territory, including the use of force. We also have to keep in mind that the need for border control absolutely cannot justify resorting to practices or using force in such a way that results in the violation of human rights, including right to life and freedom from inhuman or degrading treatment. Therefore, both the Spanish and Moroccan authorities need to take responsibility and accountability of the tragedy that happened in June 2022.
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