Judge Tardón orders investigation into mass entry into Ceuta

Judge María Tardón of Spain’s National Court has ordered an investigation into the mass irregular entry into Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31. She said the case may involve crimes against Spain’s territorial integrity, the peace or independence of the state, the rights of foreign citizens and criminal organization.

In her ruling, Tardón cited provisions of the criminal code covering illegal or unauthorized acts that expose Spaniards to abuse or reprisals against their people or property. She said the alleged conduct, committed abroad, had seriously attacked Spain’s territorial integrity, guaranteed under Article 2 of the Constitution, through a mass entry into the country.

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We are facing alleged criminal conduct committed abroad that has seriously attacked Spain’s territorial integrity.

The judge relied in part on a report from the Police National Immigration and Borders Centre. According to the report, the events were not incidental, occasional or spontaneous. Instead, it described a process in which the migratory purpose served as a formal cover. The report also identified a sustained and growing increase in entries before July 30 and highlighted social media’s role in spreading the call for a mass mobilization.

A police warning issued on July 29, one day before the events, had already identified an extreme risk of coordinated entries involving people swimming and climbing the border fence. The ruling described waves of varying intensity and profile that led to a collapse in the Spanish border-control system’s response capacity and a mass violation of territorial sovereignty.

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Collapse of border control.