Body of Moroccan Worker Killed in 2019 Spanish Fire Finally Repatriated After 27-Month Delay

More than two years after his death in Huelva, Taofik’s body has finally been repatriated to Morocco. The young Moroccan seasonal worker lost his life in 2019 in the fire in the shantytown of the San Jorge de Palos industrial zone. It took 27 months for the Moguer court, the Spanish judicial police and the Moroccan administration to identify the body and authorize the repatriation, reports Publico.

The court informed the Moroccan Consulate General in Seville, the health services and the funeral home on March 4 that it sees no "objection" to this repatriation, as long as the "legal conditions are met". Taofik’s remains had been kept all this time at the Huelva Institute of Forensic Medicine. His family had requested his repatriation in vain, the last time in November last year, after the Moroccan police communicated to the Spanish judicial police the results of the DNA test confirming the identity of the deceased.

About a month ago, Taofik was buried in Morocco, in a cemetery in Moulay-Bousselham (Kenitra), about 120 kilometers south of Tangier. The Mazagón Multicultural Association (Huelva), which has closely followed this case before the court, denounces a "total disregard for the rights of Taofik’s family." "There was negligence, inefficiency and lack of will. At no time were we given the reasons for this delay" in the transfer of Taofik’s body, explained a spokeswoman for the organization.

The association did not fail to alert about the drama experienced by these Moroccan seasonal workers in these shantytowns where they "live in degrading conditions without short or long-term solutions." The organization took the opportunity to express its fear about the repatriation of the body of another young Moroccan, who died last week in a fire in Lepe, the same causes producing the same effects. "This attitude of the administrations, including the judiciary, violates human rights and can only be considered a racist act, unworthy of a democratic country," the association regrets.