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We are minors but they didn’t listen to us
Two minors, both seventeen years old, from the city of Tan-Tan (Morocco), attempted to enter Ceuta by swimming from the city of Fnidq. They started swimming at 7:00 PM and around 11:00 PM they arrived at the coast of Ceuta.
The police were waiting for them at the shore, and as soon as they arrived, the minors began shouting that they were underage. However, the police ignored their claims. They were taken to the border and handed over to the Moroccan authorities without their ages being verified or any effort made to listen to them. They spent several hours in the police station at the border without receiving any medical assistance.
Afterward, they were transported to Tetouan, where, after a few hours, they were placed in a larger van with other migrants and taken to the Sahara Desert.
legal analysis
This action violates child protection laws, which state that minors should be transferred to child protection services. Furthermore, this incident contradicts human rights and international protection laws, as these minors were returned without legal assistance or an interpreter.Even though Spanish law (Organic Law 4/2015, of March 30, on the Protection of Citizen Security) permits pushbacks, this does not apply in this case. Two court rulings from the Second Administrative Court of Ceuta, determined last year that people arriving by sea cannot be returned without undergoing an administrative procedure.
overview
2 people ,
from Morocco,
aged 17.