Thirteen African migrants were sentenced on Wednesday August 17 by Moroccan justice to two and a half years in prison following the attempt to force entry of nearly 2,000 of them in late June in the Spanish enclave of Melilla ( northern Morocco), according to their lawyer.
Asked by AFP, Mr. Khalid Ameza was unable to specify the nature of the charges. The 13 convicts appeared before the criminal trial chamber of the court in Nador, a Moroccan town bordering the Spanish enclave of Melilla. They intend to appeal. On June 24, nearly 2,000 illegal immigrants, mostly from Sudan – a very poor country plagued by conflict and ruled by a military regime – tried to force their way into the city. of Melilla, located in Moroccan territory. The tragedy killed 23 migrants, according to the Moroccan authorities – 27, according to the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) -, provoking strong indignation in Morocco and abroad.
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This human toll is the heaviest ever recorded during one of the many attempts by migrants to enter Melilla and the neighboring Spanish enclave of Ceuta which constitute the only land borders of the European Union with the African continent. On August 4, 14 irregular migrants were already sentenced by the same Nador court to eight months in prison for “membership in an illegal immigration criminal gang” in Morocco. They were arrested on June 23 during a search operation by the Moroccan authorities in the wooded massif of Gourougou, near the border with Melilla. 33 other migrants of sub-Saharan origin were sentenced on July 19 to 11 months in prison for “illegal entry” in Morocco.
Located at the northwestern tip of Africa, Morocco is a transit country for many migrants seeking to reach Europe from its Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts, or by crossing the fences that separate Morocco from the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. The Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras reported Tuesday the death of at least 18 people after the sinking of their boat off Tarfaya, in southern Morocco, while trying to reach the Canary Islands. No confirmation could be obtained from the Moroccan authorities.