Spanish authorities have informed a National High Court judge investigating the mass migrant entry into Ceuta that Morocco arrested two individuals who administered a WhatsApp group used to broadcast calls to enter the Spanish exclave, Ara.cat reported. The information, shared with Judge María Tardón, originated from a note prepared by the Spanish Embassy in Morocco, which accessed a Moroccan media report on the matter.
Moroccan Authorities Detain Group Administrators
The two suspects were detained in Morocco on August 6. According to the document reviewed by the court, the first individual, identified by the initials Y.Ch., is accused of the “principal creation or administration” of the WhatsApp group. He was arrested, the document states, “for posting and distributing messages aimed mainly at young people encouraging them to move to the Fnideq area and attempt to reach Ceuta irregularly, including explicit references to attempts to enter by swimming.” The second suspect, identified as M.M., is also suspected of “participating in the administration of the same WhatsApp group.”
The Spanish Ministry of Interior’s note also highlights that Moroccan courts “are processing proceedings related to the facts,” and that a court in Tetuan has already “convicted several people investigated for their participation in the organization or incitement of collective border crossing operations.” Despite these detentions, the Spanish ministry warns that “the information currently available does not allow it to be established that the group investigated constituted a stable organized structure.”
Multiple Reports Submitted to the Court
The detention note is one of several documents submitted to Judge Tardón as she seeks to clarify the events surrounding the mass entry. The judge has requested reports from various bodies, including the Civil Guard, the National Police, and the National Intelligence Centre (CNI). One of these reports, which became public this Thursday, was from the National Police. It specifically claimed to have identified two high-ranking Moroccan officials appearing in videos of the crossings giving instructions around the border crossing point.
Another report, from the Civil Guard and dated October 27, estimates that “approximately 88,146” migrant individuals “may have returned” to Morocco after the entry into Ceuta. This figure is higher than the one previously provided by the Spanish government. The same Civil Guard report, which focuses on the deployment of personnel and material resources, counts 862 rescues in national waters and 90 deaths.
Civil Guard Warned of Increased Entries
Further documentation submitted to the judge includes a Civil Guard report from early July, prior to the mass entry. It warned that a recent Supreme Court doctrine would increase irregular maritime entries to the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla and alerted to a possible “call effect.” The police force had proposed reinforcing personnel in the area. The court has also received a July 30 CNI report analyzing the “situation and prospects” of what the intelligence services call “the largest mass displacement of migrants in the history of Spain to the autonomous city of Ceuta.”
The CNI report highlights that, at an operational level, “no proactive reaction has been detected from the Moroccan authorities in the face of the loss of control of the situation,” beyond the deployment of some anti-riot units. The judge also has access to the report in which the Ministry of the Interior states that in the days leading up to the mass entry, it did not receive any “alert, report, communiqué, email or operational documentation” that “anticipated a risk of mass entry of the magnitude” that occurred.
Next Steps in the Investigation
With these reports now in her possession, Judge Tardón continues her investigation into the circumstances of the mass entry.
