Immigrants from Cameroon have filed a lawsuit against Spain over the treatment they received in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta 10 years ago. The young man was an unaccompanied minor at the time of the incident.
In 2014, at least 15 migrants died and countless more were injured trying to swim from Morocco to Ceuta, Spain’s enclave on the African continent. In its summary of the incident, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights reported that 23 migrants who survived the incident were subsequently pushed back to Morocco.
Now, one of the youngest survivors has filed a lawsuit against Spain through the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).
According to news agency reports, Ludovic N.* was only 15 years old and an unaccompanied minor from Cameroon when he tried to enter Ceuta via Talajal beach. ECCHR said he was unable to swim and was fitted with a flotation device to hold on to the border wall with one hand and use the other to row towards Spain.
“I was beaten and tear gassed.”
Ludovic N. said he was beaten and tear gassed by Spanish Guardia civilian officials as he tried to protect the breakwater border that separates Moroccan and Spanish territory. He claims the police officer hit him in the arm with a baton so hard that it “broke the skin.”
Despite bleeding from his arm, he continued walking despite the tear gas making it difficult for him to breathe and fearing for his life, ECCHR said. Ludovic N. Heha, who was stopped by the Civil Guard, said he was not identified as a minor and was not provided with medical assistance, interpretation, or legal assistance. He was not given a chance to speak, and he was not spoken to. He was only pushed back into Morocco through a door in the border fence. At that time, he says, he saw the bodies of those who died in the water.
In Morocco, Ludovic N. said he was taken to a hospital in Nador for “informal treatment” before being deported at the Algerian border a day later.
The incident has been resolved
During that time, the young man moved to Germany, where ECCHR is based. His Berlin-based lawyer, Carsten Gericke, told Agence France-Presse. Agence France-Presse AFP: “The United Nations must insist that Spain reopen its investigation into the Tarajal incident and end impunity.”
In fact, a lawsuit regarding the February 6, 2014 Tarajal Beach incident reached the Spanish Supreme Court in 2022, but the case was reportedly shelved due to lack of evidence. AFP. Several lower courts have previously initiated and terminated this litigation.
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Elena Muñoz of the Spanish Commission for Assistance to Refugees (CEAR) said: AFP“There is still no truth or justice, and the families have not been compensated, so there is no guarantee that it will not happen again.”
According to the ECCHR website, Ludovic N. hopes that by filing a lawsuit, “justice will finally be served.” Ludovic N. was one of about 400 people who tried to cross the border between Morocco and Spain that day.
“Truth, justice, and reparations have yet to be paid.”
“There is still no truth, no justice, no reparations. Ten years later, no one has been convicted for the deaths and injuries of so many people. Border violence continues in court. They are not treated as human beings,” Ludovic N. told ECCHR.
Ludovic N. added that he was never called as a witness in the case that took place that day or to testify in court. Following pressure from civil society and human rights groups, an investigation was launched against 16 Guardia Civil police officers who were present at the time of the incident, but the case was not concluded until June 2022.
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ECCHR’s Hanaa Hakiki said: “The brutal repression in Playa del Tarajal is representative of Europe’s racist and dangerous border policies and shows a complete disregard for human life, especially for black people.” said. “Ceuta and Melilla serve as Europe’s laboratories against illegal activities at the EU’s borders,” Hakiqui added.
According to the ECCHR case, there is a long list of failures in the investigation and handling of the case regarding what happened in Ceuta on that day in 2014. The bodies were never identified, no one interviewed the survivors, and the victims’ families were prevented from attending court in Spain.
What is the legal precedent?
On January 22, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that the deportation of child migrants is illegal in a separate case regarding the mass border crossing to Ceuta in May 2021.
The Supreme Court rejected the Spanish government’s attempt to appeal the decision, arguing that deporting the minor violated both domestic immigration law and the European Convention on Human Rights.
According to reports, the court said in its ruling that all minors are entitled to “individual administrative proceedings” before being deported. AFP. The court acknowledged that deportation could put minors at “grave risk” of suffering “physical or mental suffering.”
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The Spanish government said the deportation was possible under a bilateral agreement signed between Spain and Morocco in 2007 that allows for the return of minors in “exceptional circumstances.” tried to make a point.
In fact, the news agency reported that Spain has a legal obligation to care for young migrants until they can find relatives or until they turn 18. Associated Press (AP).
An Interior Ministry spokesperson told the news agency. Reuters The news agency reported that the government gave “the utmost respect to the judicial decision” but declined to comment further on the verdict or any practical consequences that may arise from it. Reuters.
“What happened in Tarahar paved the way for violence at the border.”
“What happened in Tarajal paved the way for border violence to become acceptable,” said Sani Ladan of the Erin Association, a grassroots group working with migrants and refugees in Ceuta. “I believe that what happened in Melilla was directly related to the genocide.” [another Spanish exclave on the African continent] On June 24, 2022. ”
The ECCHR’s case summary states that Ludovic N.’s complaint to the United Nations Committee Against Torture is based on his “abuse…expulsion…and failure to investigate the incident ex officio.” The lack of interest in interviewing him throughout the eight years of investigation and trial meant that they were not able to “effectively, quickly and impartially uncover the circumstances in which so many people lost their lives, disappeared and were injured.” It is a “symptom” of “reluctance to conduct appropriate research.” ”
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The lawsuit seeks to address “serious deficiencies” including “bias against civilian Guardia officers and black immigrants, non-independence of the investigative unit, obstruction of victim involvement, and failure to take basic investigative steps.” It has been demanded.
The ECCHR said Ludovic N.’s case was part of a series of legal challenges to “address the impunity for systematic human rights violations inherent in the resistance at the EU’s external borders, and at the borders of African enclaves.” Spain’s policy is directed against this.” Ceuta and Melilla provide the blueprint. ”
AFP, Associated Press, Reuters
*Name has been changed by ECCHR to protect the identity of the complainant.