Brussels, 31/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - According to an article in El Pais newspaper on Friday 31 October, the outgoing European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, has sent a letter to the Spanish Home Secretary, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, questioning the legality of the practices used by the Spanish Civil Guard to close off Melilla.
The Commissioner had already written to the Minister regarding incidents that had occurred at Ceuta and Mellila at the beginning of the year. The new letter, confirmed by Michele Cercone, the spokesman for the Swedish Commissioner, focuses on the incidents that occurred on 15 October when the police attacked migrants attempting to jump over the barrier.
The Commissioner argued that, “such a practice constitutes a violation of Community law”. She has serious concerns that these migrants could have been victims of mistreatment and is backing her claim on the basis of a video broadcast by NGOs in which a civil guard policeman is seen hitting a foreign citizen who is already unconscious.
In his defence, the Spanish Minister explained that the civil guard had also been attacked and that the migrant had not been injured.
In her letter, the Commissioner demands clarification regarding these events, explained Cercone. According to El Pais, he also points to European provisions regarding these incidents, such as the Schengen border code, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and international law, according to which every migrant who arrives has the right to be questioned and request asylum.
The Commissioner is also raising questions regarding the recent changes to the expulsion of illegal immigrants. These changes have been condemned over the past few days by several NGOs working in the field of migrant rights. The People's Party is planning on introducing a law that legalises fast track expulsions. An amendment includes a clause on the immediate return of migrants coming from Morocco. NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have warned that sending migrants directly back to Morocco without any procedural safeguards is a clear violation of European and international law.
The Greek Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, will now be in charge of this dossier. (SP)