CNDH Reveals Preliminary Findings of Melilla Investigation

Rabat – Morocco’s National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) revealed on Wednesday morning the preliminary findings of the investigation committee tasked with examining the events at Melilla in late June.

While in Nador, the committee visited the hospital where the wounded were treated and conducted interviews with both migrants and local authorities.

“The council concluded that 23 people had passed away, and that none of them were buried,” Amina Bouayach, chairperson of the CNDH said during a press conference, stressing that all the deceased migrants underwent autopsies and medical tests.

The preliminary report also details accounts of the events from some of the injured migrants, who attributed their injuries to the large crowds, noting that many of them fell while trying to climb the fence.

The committee also spoke to local authorities, specifying that prosecutors are legally pursuing 65 migrants, who have been granted full legal rights and defense lawyers.

Local authorities asserted that security forces respected the laws and did not resort to excessive force despite their “attackers’ use of violence.”

Concluding its report, the council reiterated the importance of a thorough judicial investigation that examines the use of force, emphasizing that the findings of such an investigation should be publicly available.

There was also a push to review the measures in place to maintain order around the fence, with calls to Moroccan authorities to cooperate not only with European authorities but with other allies such as the African Union.

Finally, the report also called for tighter measures to combat human trafficking rings, placing emphasis on those that explicitly target migrants.

Thousands of undocumented immigrants attempted to cross the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla on Friday, June 24, leading to violent clashes with border security.

23 migrants died, and hundreds of immigrants and police members sustained injuries.