Spanish Court Orders Return of 14 Expelled Moroccan Minors to Ceuta

According to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, the expulsion of the Moroccan minors was an operation carried out jointly by the government delegation and sponsored by the Ministry of the Interior, with the collaboration of the city hall. But by ordering the return of 14 of the 2,000 Moroccan minors expelled to Morocco, the judge felt that "the legal procedure was not respected and that the fundamental right to the physical and moral integrity of the minors was violated". For him, their expulsion from Ceuta omitted "all procedures" and placed the returned children in a situation of "significant risk", the online newspaper Eldiario.es points out.

An argument rejected by the Spanish authorities. They argue that the procedure was in line with the 2007 agreement between Spain and Morocco on the prevention of illegal emigration of unaccompanied minors. "This opinion is not shared," said Judge Ignacio de la Prieta. "There was no opening of proceedings, no request for a report, no hearing procedure, no evidence phase, not even a resolution accepting the repatriation of the minors, that is, there is no trace of a repatriation file" to Morocco, the judge said.

The judge’s decision is a victory for the Raíces foundation and the Coordinadora de Barios association, which had filed appeals in August last year, on behalf of 20 unaccompanied Moroccan migrant minors, to prevent their "express return".

But sources cited by El Pais believe that the measure ordered by the judge is "very difficult to comply with" due to the difficulty in locating the minors.