The “widespread use of unlawful force” by Moroccan and Spanish authorities contributed to the deaths of at least 37 people who perished during a mass storming of the border fence between Morocco and Spain’s north African enclave of Melilla in June, according to a report.
The Amnesty International report also accuses Moroccan and Spanish police of failing to provide even basic first aid to those injured in the crush as they were left “in the full glare of the sun for up to eight hours”. It says Moroccan authorities prioritised moving corpses and treating security officials above the needs of injured migrants and refugees.
“The Spanish police did not permit the Red Cross to access the area and there was no public health response at the scene attending to injured people neither during the attempted border crossing and police operation, nor in their aftermath,” says the report.
“Spanish authorities did not assist in any way the injured people who were left on the ground in Spanish territory after the police operation ended, violating their rights in multiple ways including their right to prompt and adequate healthcare and to be free from torture and other ill-treatment.”
Amnesty says the failure to provide assistance was not only cruel but also shows that Spain and Morocco were in breach of their obligations to protect the right to life.
Spain has said there were no deaths in its territory and that Guardia Civil officers acted “totally within the law and with the necessary proportionality required by events”. But it has confirmed that officers used 86 teargas canisters, 28 smoke canisters, 65 rubber bullets, 270 warning shots and 41 doses of pepper spray to try to push back crowds.
Morocco claims its officers acted “with a high level of control and professionalism”, and has said some of those who rushed the fence were armed with sticks, machetes, stones and knives.
The NGO’s researchers – who interviewed survivors, witnesses, officials and healthcare workers – have concluded that crimes under international law were committed on 24 June and the actions of police from both countries contributed to the deaths of at least 37 people and to injuries to dozens more.
The true death toll, however, could be far higher: 77 people who tried to make the crossing that day remain unaccounted for and their families still have no news of them.
The official version of events has already been challenged in investigations by BBC Africa Eye, Lighthouse Reports, a fact-finding trip by Spanish MPs, and Spain’s public ombudsman.
Amnesty is calling on Spain and Morocco to ensure “independent and impartial investigations” are conducted into the events of 24 June to ensure that those who broke the law face justice.
It also wants inquiries into the lack of medical care, and has urged authorities in the countries to help the families of the missing and the dead by locating and repatriating bodies.
In October, a UN working group of experts on people of African descent said the deaths in Melilla were evidence of the “racialised exclusion and deadly violence deployed to keep out people of African and Middle Eastern descent”. The UN committee on migrant workers also called on Spain and Morocco to carry out thorough investigations into what happened.
In June, Spain’s supreme court confirmed the shelving of an investigation into the deaths of 14 people, who drowned in the sea off Spain’s other north African enclave of Ceuta in 2014 after Guardia Civil officers opened fire with rubber bullets and teargas.
