Rights organizations have criticized the lack of accountability and openness into the 37 migrants who died on June 24, 2022, while attempting to illegally cross the border from Morocco to the Spanish island city of Melilla.
Marking the tragedy’s anniversary, Amnesty International claimed that, the Spanish and Moroccan governments were “preventing attempts to find the truth” about what transpired, when about 2,000 African migrants attempted to scale a border wall, as many were trampled upon, beaten, and refused medical treatment by security personnel at the “Barrio Chino” border crossing.
However, the Interior Minister of Spain, Fernando Grande Marlaska has categorically denied any fatalities had occurred there. For “truth, justice, and reparations,” the independent Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR) requested that, officials explain what occurred that day. This came after prosecutors abandoned the state inquiry into the tragic event.
The General Director of CEAR, Estrella Galán, stated that, this “leaves the door wide open for such a tragedy to happen again, endangering the lives of thousands of people seeking refuge.”
Amnesty International pointed out that, 76 individuals are still missing following the catastrophe, and that neither Spain nor Morocco has provided a complete list of victims’ identities or any video of the incident.
“Bodies are still lying in a morgue and in graves and efforts to identify the dead and inform their relatives have been blocked,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard, said.
Additionally, Amnesty International also claimed that, Spain had kept on forcibly expulse people to the Moroccan border illegally since the fatal attempt to cross, and that as bilateral relations have improved, Morocco is now preventing people entering Spain to seek asylum via their border.
“What happened in Melilla is a salutary reminder that racist migration policies aimed at fortifying borders and restricting safe and legal routes for people seeking safety in Europe have real and deadly consequences.”
Amnesty International Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard
The Spanish government has long been under fire from Human Right groups, for the administrative and practical barriers, that people seeking asylum endures. The acceptance percentage for asylum requests in Spain is significantly lower than the norm for Europe.
The appeal for action from rights organizations, comes at a tragic time for migrant deaths in the Mediterranean.
Spanish Maritime Rescue has reported that, two bodies, a man and a child have been found in the ocean off the western coast of Morocco. According to the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, the dinghy was abandoned for 12 hours without assistance, and the 39 people on board perished.
Furthermore, tapes recorded by the private Spanish radio station Cadena Ser revealed, the Spanish coast guard requested Moroccan officials to assist the shipwreck. Rescue supposedly delayed as Spain and Morocco raised questions over whether the migrants were in either of their waters.
In the meantime, three additional bodies have been discovered off the coast of southern Greece, bringing the total of verified fatalities from one of the worst-ever migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean to 81.
Additionally, the Greek coast guard has come under fire for failing to attempt to save the migrants, before their boat capsized.
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