Amnesty condemns Spain, Morocco over Melilla border tragedy

By Joan Faus

MADRID (Reuters) – Moroccan and Spanish authorities used “unlawful and lethal force” during a mass border crossing by migrants in June in which at least 23 people died, and their response “smacks of a cover-up,” Amnesty International said on Tuesday in a report based on eyewitness testimony, video footage and satellite imagery.

The handling of the mass border crossing attempt on June 24 between Morocco and Spain’s North African enclave of Melilla remains a high-stakes political headache for the Spanish government. It has been heavily criticised by Spain’s ombudsman and U.N. human rights experts. The country’s interior minister has been repeatedly grilled in parliament and has faced calls to resign from opposition parties.

Morocco has said that 23 people died in the incident, while Spanish authorities have argued that no deaths occurred in their territory. Amnesty said at least 37 people died and 77 others remain missing.

The report said that “many of the injured continued to be beaten and kicked as they lay on the ground, semi-conscious, unresponsive or struggling for breath.”

It also decried the lack of information concerning the identity of the deceased and the fate of the missing.

Asked about those allegations, Spain’s Interior Ministry reiterated that police acted “lawfully and proportionally with an absolute respect for human rights,” and said that accusations Spain had failed in its duty to assist were false.

Moroccan authorities declined to comment.

“Moroccan and Spanish authorities failed to provide prompt and adequate medical assistance to the injured, including by denying a Red Cross ambulance team access to the area, while dozens were left unattended in the full glare of the sun for at least eight hours,” Amnesty said.

One interviewee said that Spanish police forced injured people back across the border to Morocco. A 17-year-old Sudanese citizen said people arrested by Moroccan police were “beaten by hammers in their head until they passed away” in jail.

(Reporting by Joan Faus; Editing by David Latona, Aislinn Laing and Mark Porter)