Moroccan Man Walks Free After Ceuta Pepper Spray Trial, Fined €120
Two legionnaires said they were attacked with pepper spray during an operation in Ceuta. The Moroccan man on trial also faced a possible ten-year ban on entering Spain. Inconsistencies in the testimony changed the outcome of the trial.
The two soldiers’ statements turned the case around. One said the Moroccan man used pepper spray while both his arms were being held. The second gave several accounts, ranging from a canister being taken out after a search to the soldiers preventing its use.
The judge at the Ceuta court found the testimony “confused,” particularly regarding how the operation unfolded and the mission the legionnaires were carrying out. She dismissed the charge of assaulting the authorities, reports Europa Press.
The incident took place on September 7, at around 12:30 a.m., in the Tarajal area. Uniformed soldiers had asked the man to show his papers near a migrant camp. He had arrived in Ceuta in late July and applied for asylum.
The prosecutor’s office sought a four-year prison sentence for assaulting the authorities with a dangerous instrument. It proposed replacing the sentence with deportation to Morocco and a ten-year ban on returning to Spain.
Pepper spray and two minor injuries
The ruling finds that pepper spray was used. The two legionnaires suffered forearm irritation and coughing, and their injuries healed within a day. The Moroccan man was convicted of causing two minor injuries and fined €60 for each soldier, in addition to court costs.
At the October 19 hearing, the man had said that the soldiers beat him and sprayed him with gas. His lawyer, Yoel Rio, submitted a medical report documenting injuries to his head and eyes and the loss of a tooth. The report was excluded during the preliminary proceedings, El Pueblo de Ceuta reports.
The defense is considering an appeal and filing a complaint against the two legionnaires. The ruling, made public on October 22, can still be challenged.
