Lorraine Williamson
Spain’s Audiencia Nacional has formally opened a criminal investigation into the mass Ceuta crossings of 30 and 31 July, marking a significant escalation in the judicial examination of what happened at the border with Morocco.
Judge María Tardón has ruled that the National Court is competent to investigate, describing the suspected conduct as having been committed partly abroad while seriously affecting Spain’s territorial integrity. The investigation will examine a possible organised structure behind the crossings and the deaths and injuries associated with them.
The decision follows weeks of questions over whether the unprecedented crossings were spontaneous or whether people had been deliberately mobilised and directed towards the Spanish border.
Tardón’s order draws heavily on a report from the Policía Nacional’s Centro Nacional de Inmigración y Fronteras, or CENIF. According to the court’s account of that evidence, the events were not considered incidental or spontaneous but part of a coordinated process.
The judge refers to what she describes as a clear facilitating operation from Moroccan territory and points specifically to the documented behaviour of members of Morocco’s security forces.
Judge points to active guidance by Moroccan officers
According to the order, images and video examined by investigators show uniformed Moroccan officers apparently giving instructions to people approaching the border.
The judge says the evidence goes beyond officers merely allowing people to pass. She points to indications that some officers actively directed people towards routes that would allow them to overcome obstacles and reach the area leading towards Fnideq beach.
The order nevertheless does not establish that the Moroccan government itself ordered or organised the operation. The purpose of the criminal investigation will be to establish how the crossings were organised, identify those responsible where possible and determine whether criminal offences were committed.
The findings add a significant judicial dimension to a politically sensitive question. The Spanish government has repeatedly said there is no conclusive evidence that the Moroccan state planned the crossings, even while acknowledging questions surrounding the actions of Moroccan personnel at the border.
Investigation identifies a possible five-level structure
Tardón’s order describes a possible organisational structure involving at least five levels.
At the first level are the people who entered Ceuta. The second involves those who allegedly helped spread messages through social media encouraging people to head towards the border.
The third concerns people believed to have organised the movement of people on the ground, including references to uniformed and plain-clothes members of Morocco’s security forces.
Investigators then identify possible fourth and fifth levels involving the planning and overall direction of the operation. At this stage, however, individuals responsible for those higher levels have not been identified.
The judge considers that coordinating actors across these different levels would have required considerable influence over social networks, people connected to Moroccan security forces and individuals or institutions capable of planning an operation on such a scale.
Europa Press — court order details alleged structure behind Ceuta crossings
Deaths during crossings will form part of investigation
The investigation will also examine possible criminal responsibility for deaths associated with the crossings.
Tardón has requested information from courts in Ceuta concerning 83 deaths currently documented in Spanish waters that could be connected with the events.
The possible offences being examined include facilitating irregular immigration within a criminal organisation, crimes affecting the peace or independence of the State, negligent homicide and serious injury.
Part of the proceedings will remain secret to protect investigative measures. Prosecutors will continue to have access to those proceedings.
The National Court investigation follows a complaint lodged by Iustitia Europa. The Fiscalía had subsequently supported Tardón assuming jurisdiction, arguing that although potential planning and organisation may have taken place outside Spain, the most significant consequences occurred on Spanish territory.
Police issued extreme-risk warning before crossings
Another important element contained in the court documents concerns what Spanish police knew immediately before the crisis.
CENIF issued an alert on 29 July, the day before the mass crossings began, warning border posts in Ceuta and Melilla of an extreme risk of coordinated attempts involving people swimming around the border and attempting to cross the fence.
The existence of that warning is likely to form part of the investigation into how the crisis developed and how authorities on both sides of the border responded.
The events of 30 and 31 July overwhelmed Ceuta’s border infrastructure and triggered a humanitarian, security and political crisis that continues more than five weeks later.
Transport minister questions judge’s impartiality
The court decision has already generated a new political confrontation.
Transport Minister Óscar Puente questioned Tardón’s impartiality on Monday evening, referring to her previous political career as a PP councillor in Madrid and questioning whether conclusions could safely be drawn solely from police reports.
His comments came only hours after Tardón announced that the Audiencia Nacional would take responsibility for the investigation, adding another layer of tension between members of the government and the judiciary over the handling of the Ceuta crisis.
The opening of the criminal proceedings does not determine who ultimately bears responsibility for the crossings. It does, however, mean that allegations of coordination, the actions of Moroccan personnel, the deaths associated with the crossings and the possible organisation behind them will now be examined through a formal judicial investigation.
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