Spanish Officials to Face Judge Over Controversial Repatriation of Moroccan Minors

The minors were sent back in August 2021, three months after the May migration crisis of the same year, based on an agreement between Spain and Morocco. These returns have been deemed "illegal" because they were not carried out in accordance with the law. The rights of the minors and the legislation in force on the matter were not respected, which had prompted the prosecution to request the opening of a judicial investigation.

In his letter to the judge, which El Mundo had access to, the prosecutor denounced these returns, which he described as "excesses and abuses" by the Ministry of the Interior. "We conclude that the legally established procedure was deliberately and consciously omitted, whereas in a state of law there is no room for shortcuts," he stressed, recalling that the protection of minors is one of the main missions of "any modern, democratic and responsible administration".

The prosecution is convinced that the agreement between Spain and Morocco mentioned by the government delegate, Salvadora Mateos, during her appearance last December "did not allow any de facto return" of the minors and violates their rights and freedoms. In defense of the two political officials summoned to appear, their defenses emphasize the "exceptional" nature of the "totally unsustainable" situation the city was experiencing due to the massive influx of migrants.

"The direct application of the 2007 Agreement is the result of the previous diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Spain and Morocco and which have therefore been communicated in the letter addressed by the Secretary of State for Security of the Ministry of the Interior to the authorities of Ceuta," the defenses of the two accused have assured, revealing the involvement of Minister Grande-Marlaska in the return of these minors to Morocco.