many versions and few answers

First modification: 06/26/2023 – 02:42

On June 24, 2022, the Spanish city of Melilla was the scene of a massive jump of about 2,000 people who, from North Africa, were trying to cross the border into Europe.

Among the versions given by the official authorities, it is explained that some of the migrants died after falling off the fences they were trying to climb, while others died of suffocation after a stampede broke out, caused by panic and despair when the Moroccan police began firing tear gas and rubber bullets at them.

A narrative that has been contrasted with videos in which it can be seen that the Moroccan authorities were slow to attend to the wounded, who also received the impact of the batons of the agents of the African country.

“We could see police vans in the distance who were watching us but didn’t say anything. It was as if they let us continue. Before we reached the fence, policemen began to appear from all sides, shooting rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, which prevented us from seeing”, said Adam, a young man from Sudan interviewed by the newspapers El Mundo and El País, who managed to enter Melilla.

The incident was triggered when the migrants, mainly from Sudan, South Sudan and Chad, tried to cross the border. A strong repression by the Moroccan security forces then broke out.

“Many were hit with batons and anything that caused damage. They also threw some bombs that made an unbearable noise. Many boys fell to the ground and others who were running forward stepped on them, that was run or die. So we broke the door with the electric saw, we managed to open it and cross to Melilla, where a group of friends who had managed to arrive in the jump on March 3 received us”, added Adam.

Amnesty International assures that at least 470 migrants managed to cross. However, “they were immediately expelled and handed over to the Moroccan security forces, without assessing the risk to their security, whether they wanted to request international protection or whether they needed medical attention,” read a statement from the organization.

Amnesty also notes that the authorities did not attempt to repatriate the victims’ remains and did not provide a full list of names and causes of death.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, AMDH, assures that at least 76 people are still missing, a figure that the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior assures is “unfounded”, but a number that for the families has served as a sufficient argument to go out to the streets to ask for justice.

“Where are the disappeared? Have some left? Have they been expelled from the country? Are they dead?” Said Tbel, head of migration for the AMDH, asked.

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conflicting research

The official figures do not correspond to those provided by human rights organizations and there are still too many unresolved issues.

This Friday, June 23, on the eve of the fateful anniversary, Amnesty International published a report stating that more than 100 people died that day, which is four times the official figure given by Morocco and which different NGOs have questioned.

The Moroccan government assured that there were 23 deaths, while the AMDH increased the number to 27. Only one of the deceased was identified and buried in the presence of his relatives.

The rest of the families could not even mourn the dead in burial ceremonies, since shortly after the event, at least twenty graves were dug, which were never occupied.

By December of last year, it was learned that the Spanish Prosecutor’s Office would not continue to investigate criminal responsibilities around deaths at the border.

The attorney general investigated the incident, however he refused to charge his country’s officials, assuring that they were unaware of the deadly crushing. And Spanish lawmakers rejected calls for a parliamentary inquiry. Morocco has not determined the responsibilities of its officers either.

The Spanish Prosecutor’s Office did not find anyone responsible for the tragedy after six months of searches, despite the fact that the Spanish Ombudsman did find irregularities in the way in which a body of the Spanish armed forces that participated that June 24 operated. However, the scope of his investigation is limited, since the events took place under Moroccan jurisdiction.

With EFE, Reuters and local media