Morocco sentences another 13 migrants to 2.5 years in prison after the Melilla fence tragedy

Moroccan justice has sentenced 13 migrants to two and a half years in prison and a fine of 10,000 dirhams (about 950 euros) for the clashes that took place on June 24 at the foot of the Melilla fence and in which they died at the least 23 people, although some unofficial sources raised the figure to 37, as reported through a message on its Facebook page by the Nador section of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH).

Eleven of those sentenced are of Sudanese nationality, while another is from Chad, and one is from South Sudan.

The AMDH, the main and most prestigious association that watches over human rights in Morocco, has criticized the court ruling.

“Very harsh sentences against asylum seekers who only came to Morocco fleeing war and persecution.

The sentences confirm once again how judicial means are used against simple migrants for the sake of migratory policies," says the note published by the organization, which also expresses its wish that those convicted be released as a result of the appeal to the verdict.

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In addition, on July 19, a court in Nador had already sentenced another 33 migrants to 11 months in prison.

According to the Moroccan press, the charges not only refer to the clashes that took place on the 24th, but also the night before on Mount Gourougou, located near Nador, during an operation by the Moroccan police.

The harsh images that leaked into the public light of the tragedy in the Melilla valley, in which more than twenty immobile bodies could be seen piled up on the ground in front of the gaze of the Moroccan police, shook public opinion Spanish.

The praise that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, dedicated to the actions of the Moroccan security forces served to fuel the controversy even more.

A few days later, in a debate in the Congress of Deputies, Sánchez assured that when making those statements he was not aware of the high number of fatalities.

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While two official investigations into the events are taking place in Spain, one launched by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the other by the Ombudsman, a preliminary report by the Moroccan National Human Rights Council blamed the Spanish authorities for their "resignation or hesitation" to time to help the victims.

Spain and Morocco opened a new stage in their bilateral relations last March, after the Spanish Government decided to break with a policy of almost five decades regarding the conflict in Western Sahara —based on neutrality— in order to uphold the thesis of Rabat.

The jump to the Melilla fence in June was the first of these characteristics since the normalization of relations between Spain and Morocco in April 2022, after the change in position of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, on Western Sahara.

It also coincided a few days before the NATO summit in Madrid, on June 29 and 30.