Moroccan prosecutors charge 25 over Ceuta migrant crossings

Moroccan prosecutors have charged 25 people in connection with last Thursday’s mass crossing of migrants into the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

The charges include organising illegal border crossings, transporting passengers without a license, overcrowding vessels, overstaying visas, insulting and assaulting security forces, and deliberately damaging public property. The Moroccan news outlet Hespress reported the developments this week.

On Monday, the Moroccan government denied that it had given in to “pressure or blackmail” during the crisis – which saw tens of thousands of migrants enter Ceuta – while expressing its “disappointment” at the reactions of several European leaders, accusing them of trying to use the migration crisis for domestic political gains.

Moroccan diplomatic sources also rejected claims that the country had eased border controls. Speaking to Spanish media, they insisted that anyone attempting to cross the border “knows that they will be sent back and that Morocco will accept their return”. It is a commitment they said Rabat had upheld “for years.”

Meanwhile, the Moroccan Association for Human Rights said this week that Moroccan authorities have prosecuted 52 people in the city of Nador over their alleged involvement in the recent crisis.

According to a statement from the organisation, 11 young people appeared before the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal in Nador, while another 41 people have been brought before the city’s Court of First Instance.

All remain in pre-trial detention and some face accusations of criminal offences, although AMDH has not specified the charges against them.

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