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🇵🇦 Panama /Crime & Justice

Spanish court opens investigation into mass migrant entry into Ceuta

From TVN Panamá · () Spanish

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

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Under investigation
  • Spain’s National Court has opened an investigation into the entry of more than 70,000 migrants into Ceuta at the end of July.
  • The judge cited a police report alleging that Moroccan security forces facilitated crossings, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government says there is no solid evidence Morocco instigated the influx.
  • The investigation may examine offenses against Spain’s state security and foreign nationals’ rights, including possible negligent homicide linked to at least 83 deaths during attempted crossings.

A Spanish court has opened an investigation into the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta after citing evidence that Moroccan authorities may have helped facilitate the crossings.

Judge María Tardón of Spain’s National Court said the available findings pointed to an “undeniable facilitation” of the process from Moroccan territory and “permissiveness” by Moroccan security forces. The court said the facts could involve crimes affecting Spain’s peace or independence, among others.

undeniable facilitation

· María TardónThe judge used the phrase when describing alleged management of the crossings from Moroccan territory.

Tardón based her decision mainly on a Spanish police report leaked to the press the previous week. The report, later obtained by AFP, said the entry of more than 70,000 people into the small Spanish territory did not result from incidental, occasional or spontaneous actions. It described Moroccan uniformed personnel as failing to reduce, disperse or move people away from the border area, and alleged that some actively guided them on how to cross into Ceuta.

permissiveness

· María TardónThe judge cited the term to characterize the conduct of Moroccan security forces at the border.

The Spanish government, led by Pedro Sánchez, has continued to insist that there is no solid evidence Morocco instigated the mass entry. Moroccan authorities have not responded to the police report, while Moroccan media have called it sloppy and lacking material evidence. Morocco claims sovereignty over Ceuta.

The judge also said the case could involve offenses against the rights of foreign nationals in connection with possible negligent homicides. At least 83 people died while trying to swim to Ceuta. Most migrants returned to Morocco in the hours after the entry, but thousands remained, leading to outbreaks of violence and mass protests by Ceuta residents demanding their expulsion.

There is no solid evidence

· Pedro Sánchez governmentThe Spanish government rejected the claim that Morocco instigated the mass entry.
About this summary

Originally published by TVN Panamá 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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