Spain and Morocco have been accused Friday of protecting up the deaths of dozens of migrants and refugees at a Spanish enclave final yr.
U.Ok.-based worldwide rights group Amnesty International mentioned each international locations didn’t correctly examine the occasions at Melilla.
On June 24, 2022, round 2,000 Sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees tried to enter Spain’s North African enclave from Morocco. At least 37 died and at the least 76 are nonetheless lacking, the nongovernmental group (NGO) mentioned.
Morocco mentioned 23 individuals died in a crush when migrants fell from the fence, and Spain has mentioned no deaths occurred on its soil.
“One year on from the carnage at Melilla, Spanish and Moroccan authorities not only continue to deny any responsibility but are preventing attempts to find the truth,” mentioned Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnes Callamard.
Amnesty mentioned authorities had didn’t make any try to repatriate victims’ stays and had not offered a full checklist of names and causes of dying, in addition to CCTV footage which may inform an investigation.
“The lessons of Melilla must be learned or – as the shipwreck off the Greek coast shows – arbitrary loss of life, violence and impunity at borders will continue,” Callamard added.
A fishing boat filled with a whole bunch of migrants sank off Greece’s south-west coast earlier this month, on a journey that began from Libya and was supposed to finish in Italy. At least 82 have been killed and a whole bunch are nonetheless lacking.
Spain’s Attorney General investigated the Melilla incident however declined to cost Spanish officers who he mentioned had been unaware of the deadly crush. Spanish lawmakers rejected requires a parliamentary inquiry.
The dealing with of the occasion by authorities on either side of the border was criticized nevertheless by rights teams and unbiased investigators.
Spain’s ombudsman mentioned Spain had returned those that jumped the fence with out processing their instances and the U.N.’s Commissioner for Human Rights mentioned they discovered “no genuine and effective access to asylum at the border.”
A spokesman for Spain’s Interior Ministry mentioned the investigation by Spain’s Attorney General had been carried out “with full guarantees and in full depth.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
