MADRID – The deportation of hundreds of Moroccan youths who collectively crossed the border from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in August 2021 was illegal, Spain’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday, undermining the left-wing coalition government’s immigration policy. struck a blow.
The judges rejected the government’s appeal against an earlier ruling by a regional court in Ceuta that ordered Madrid to secure the youth’s return to Spain, saying their deportation was illegal.
A Home Office spokesperson said, “We respect the judicial decision to the fullest,” but declined to comment further on the ruling or its practical impact.
In May 2021, at the peak of the diplomatic dispute between Madrid and Rabat over Western Sahara, the minors and unaccompanied migrants crossed into the North African enclave along with around 12,000 others.
Approximately 700 of them were repatriated to Morocco in mid-August following an agreement between neighboring countries.
The Supreme Court said the mass expulsion of minors not only ignored domestic immigration law, but also violated the European Convention on Human Rights.
Spanish law requires separate administrative procedures for each minor deported, providing information about their specific circumstances and requiring a proper hearing if they are deemed to be of sufficient maturity. There is.
The Ceuta authorities did not meet any of these conditions, the Supreme Court ruled, and the minor was “at grave risk of physical or psychological harm” and therefore It added that the minor’s right to moral integrity had been violated.
Lawyers for the Spanish government cited “exceptional circumstances” for mass entry, but the court said the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Spain is a signatory, clearly prohibits mass expulsions of foreigners. .Reuters