Spain sends back 116 migrants to Morocco

Spain has expelled 116 migrants who illegally entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta drawing condemnation from human rights activists.

A statement by the Spanish government read: “The 116 sub-Saharan migrants who entered Spain via the Ceuta border illegally have been sent back to Morocco.”

A leading humanitarian group described Spain’s actions as a “huge violation of human rights.”

The Spanish Interior Ministry defended its actions saying: “Once Morocco indicated it would accept these people…. the national police went to look for them at the holding centre for foreigners and transferred them to the police station…. All of them had a lawyer, an interpreter and medical aid.”

“All were told of the possibility of applying for asylum but they didn’t do it.”

Spain’s overseas territories; Ceuta and Melilla are located on the Moroccan mainland and are the only land borders with the European Union.

Every year sub-Saharan African migrant’s travel to Morocco in the hope of either climbing the border fence or swimming around it to reach Europe.

According to the International Organization for Migration some 3,100 migrants have entered Ceuta and Melilla so far this year, while over 25,000 other migrants have arrived in mainland Spain by sea.

The following video shows young sub-Saharan men entering Cuenta illegally last Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018.