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🇪🇸 Spain /Crime & Justice

Ceuta report sparks another clash between Spain's judiciary and government

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Police Commissioner Julián Ávila told senior officials that National Court judge María Tardón had requested strict secrecy over a report on the arrival of about 70,000 migrants in Ceuta.
  • Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska criticized being excluded from the report's preparation, while judicial authorities defended the need to protect judicial independence.
  • Internal police documents say the investigation examined whether the migration crisis involved a coordinated action by an organization or criminal group and whether participants could be identified.

A request for secrecy from a National Court judge has triggered another confrontation between Spain's government and judiciary over a police report on the arrival of around 70,000 migrants in Ceuta on July 30 and 31.

maximum confidentiality

· María TardónThe National Court judge allegedly used these words in a telephone request to police officials handling the report.

Police Commissioner General for Immigration and Borders Julián Ávila told senior police officials that Judge María Tardón had asked members of his team by telephone to maintain “maximum confidentiality” about the report. He said the request came 10 days after the judge ordered the analysis.

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska complained that he had been kept outside the report's preparation. He called the document “of great interest” to allow the government to “exercise its constitutional functions with the greatest accuracy.” The president of the judiciary and the National Court's governing chamber defended the measure as necessary to preserve judicial independence.

of great interest

· Fernando Grande-MarlaskaThe Interior minister used this description for the police document he said would help the government perform its constitutional duties.

The dispute intensified after the report was leaked. Police Director General Francisco Pardo-Piqueras summoned several senior commanders, including the heads of the Information and Immigration units, Javier Antonio Susin and Julián Ávila, as well as Ávila's deputy, Alfredo García Miravete. After the meeting, the two commissioners submitted internal reports explaining, among other matters, why they had not previously informed their superiors.

exercise its constitutional functions with the greatest accuracy

· Fernando Grande-MarlaskaMarlaska explained why he considered the report important to the executive.

According to the documents obtained by El País, the Immigration unit received the judge's request on August 3, although she signed it on July 31. The police were asked to determine whether the Ceuta crisis had been “a coordinated action or directed by an organization or criminal group” and to identify “those who may have taken part in such actions.” Ávila's account says senior immigration officials held conversations with the judge throughout August about the report, including David Agorreta, head of the National Immigration and Borders Centre, and the chief of the Central Unit for Illegal Immigration Networks and Document Fraud. The excerpt ends while describing the judge's instructions on reporting the investigation to police superiors.

a coordinated action or directed by an organization or criminal group

· María TardónThe reported investigation sought to determine whether the Ceuta migration crisis had been organized or directed by a criminal group.
About this summary

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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