Families Demand Justice in Melilla for 2013 Deaths of Young Fishermen

During this umpteenth demonstration, the parents and relatives of Emin and Pisly will observe a minute of silence in memory of the two victims. "It has been 7 years and 10 months since Pisly, 24 years old and Emin, 20 years old from Melilla would have been intercepted and shot down by a Moroccan Navy patrol boat, while they were fishing in Moroccan waters, off Punta Negri," the family said in a statement quoted by El Faro de Melilla.

The relatives of the two young men will not fail to denounce the inaction of the Moroccan and Spanish authorities. "We continue to demand from the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, answers on this case and that justice be done; that Spain put pressure on Morocco," they added.

To read: Families to Protest in Melilla, Demanding Justice for Spanish Youths Killed by Moroccan Navy

The National Court closed the case on the death of the two young men at the end of 2020. According to the investigations carried out by the national court, Abdeselam Ahmed (Pisly) and Amin Mohamed (Emin) would have been shot dead by agents of the Royal Moroccan Navy on October 27, 2013. Last September, the judge José Luis Calama in charge of the case ordered the arrest and detention of three Moroccan soldiers as alleged perpetrators of the deaths of Emin and Pisly. The prosecution appealed the decision to the criminal court, which upheld it and revoked the judge’s order.

According to Pedro Díaz of the ILOCAD law firm, who represents the victims’ families, this decision "makes no sense" and is "a blow to the families".