For Freedom of Movement & Fair Development!

Communique on the occasion of the sweeps in Morocco since the 24th of July

Published on 1st of August, first signatories: see below

During the night of Tuesday July 23-Wednesday July 24, a group of unarmed Sub-Saharan migrant attempted to cross the border fences of Melilla [Spanish-held enclave in North Africa]. The next day, Moroccan authorities conducted sweeps in the Northern cities of Morocco. During these sweeps, hundreds of Sub-Saharan migrants –men, women, children- have been arrested, beaten and deported toward the desert border between Algeria and Morocco. Some of those that have managed to escape arrest have found refuge in nearby forests and are unwilling to return to the cities for fear of new arrests. Others have been admitted to hospitals in Nador, where there have already been two fatal causalities and numerous seriously wounded.

Protest-Letter to the Moroccan embassy in Berlin

Please send this protest-lette with Fax, Post or E-Mail to the embassy Maroccan in Berlin: Address: Botschaft des Königreichs Marokko, Niederwallstraße 39, 10117 Berlin, Telefon: +49 (0) 30 20 61 24 0, Fax: +49 (0) 30 20 61 24 20, E-mail: kontakt@botschaft-marokko.de

Dear Mr. Ambassador,

with great concern I learned from Moroccan and international media, that Moroccan security forces executed various raids against Sub-Saharan migrants in the North of Morocco and in other cities like Mekhnés and Rabat. For example: on July 27th 140 migrants were detained close to the city of Nador and some days before, on July 24th, nearly 300 migrants were detained in the neighbourhood Boukhalef in Tanger.

Video about the Situation in Melilla (17 minutes)

We want to recommend stongly the following video concerning the situation of migrants in the area of Melilla (french with english subtitles).

The Video has been published in June 2013 and can be watched on this website