Spain: controversy surrounding Moroccan minors expelled in 2021
In August 2021, Spain returned 45 Moroccan minors who had entered the city of Ceuta illegally.
Monday January 22, the Supreme Court considered that this dismissal was purely “
illegal
”.
However, this Wednesday, the Minister of the Interior, Grande-Marlaska, supports their dismissal and fully defends these actions, carried out “
in the name of the interests of minors
”.
In Ceuta.
For the Supreme Court, the return in 2021 of 45 Moroccan minors from the enclave would contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.
© Louis Witter / RFI
By: RFI Follow
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With our correspondent in Madrid,
François Musseau
The Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, finds himself in an unfortunate situation.
While he opposes the right by saying that there is no proven link between delinquency and illegal immigration, illegal immigration which increased last year by 23%, here he is with his back to the wall facing to justice.
The Supreme Court considers - in fact - that this same minister carried out in 2021 a return of 45 Moroccan minors from Ceuta, which would contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.
A “
return device
”
Grande-Marlaska affirms that it was not a question of expulsion, but of a “
return system
” which had been the subject of a bilateral agreement with Morocco.
These 45 Moroccan teenagers entered the Spanish city of Ceuta as part of a massive influx of 8,000 people in May 2021, thanks to the laxity of the Moroccan gendarmes.
For three months, these 45 minors wandered the streets of Ceuta, until the Spanish ministry took them back to the border with Morocco.
Grande-Marlaska is now claiming her rights, but her legal troubles have only just begun.
Read alsoSpain: a former political official arrested for sexual abuse of minor migrants in Ceuta
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