Spanish Ombudsman to Investigate Controversial Repatriation of Minors to Morocco

Specifically, the Ombudsman will gather information from the Ministry of the Interior on these minors who had filed a complaint with the Institution to demand the restoration of their rights, according to Europa Press.

The Ombudsman will therefore examine these complaints, verify whether the rights of these minors have been violated and request that they be respected. Last week, the administrative court of Ceuta ordered the return to Spain of 14 Moroccan minors, on the grounds that their repatriation was not carried out in accordance with the applicable texts.

To read: Hundreds of Moroccan Migrant Children Still in Ceuta a Year After Crisis

In this case, the judge denounced the absence, in the repatriation file, of the report on the family situation of the minor and the report of the child protection services and the public prosecutor’s office, not to mention the fact that the minors were not heard or provided with legal assistance.

To recall, the Ombudsman and several human rights organizations and international organizations such as the UN had denounced the "illegal" nature of the procedure for repatriating the minors last August, which had led to its suspension by the judge.