After the chaos caused last week by the massive entry of migrants both by swimming and over the Ceuta fence, the consequences are now beginning to be seen. On one hand the political and on the other the humanitarian. The latest data available is that there are already 90 deaths while trying to swim from Morocco to Ceuta, although it is already assumed that more bodies will appear in the coming days.
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For now, autopsies are being performed, which will determine the cause of death. Then comes the next hurdle, their identification. Without known relatives, this task becomes complicated. The question is whether any court will want to investigate these deaths or if anyone will request it. Legal sources expert in immigration acknowledge that, unfortunately, the dead in a crisis like this are not the main problem. Now it remains to be seen who allowed the entry of 60,000 people, how those calls were made, who spread the rumors that the Spanish border was open, and the role the State has played in all this. These sources point out that the chances of holding anyone responsible for these deaths are scarce if not nil.
To begin with, it will have to be seen if the bodies can be repatriated, although they suspect that Morocco will not claim them and therefore they will end up buried in Ceuta. Meanwhile, the courts will have to resolve the issue of minors to order certification that they are indeed under 18 years old as some of them claim, arriving without any identification.
Once the autopsies are done, it will be necessary to wait and see if Morocco claims any body
For now, the corresponding courts have open proceedings to order the autopsies although there are no exact data yet. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office is waiting for the forensic work to be completed before making a decision.
In parallel, the party Iustitia Europa has already filed a complaint with the National Court, which Judge María Tardón has studied. The first thing they have done is request a report from the National Police’s Unit against Immigration Networks and Document Falsifications (UCRIF) on the irregular entry of people through Ceuta to find out if crimes against State Security, crimes against the Nation, facilitation of illegal immigration and human trafficking, criminal organization, and omission of the duty to prosecute crimes have been committed, as stated in the complaint.
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Specifically, they ask the General Immigration and Borders Commissariat to send information about the “mass irregular entry of citizens from Moroccan territory that has taken place in Ceuta in recent days, especially on July 30 and 31.” They also request that it be specified whether “we are facing a concerted action or directed by any organization or criminal group and how many identification elements of those who may have participated in such actions, if there is any record of it.”
National Court Judge María Tardón has requested a report on what happened from UCRIF
Sources in the investigation maintain that to know such details an investigation will have to be carried out, and it is not ruled out that a rogatory commission may be requested from Morocco, all before saying if there may be incriminating elements against specific individuals.
Precedents such as the 15 migrants who died trying to cross the Tarajal in 2014 or the death of 23 people trying to jump the Melilla fence in 2022 are not very encouraging. Both cases were archived. “It is very difficult to determine how it all started and in which country,” these sources specify.
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