RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A Moroccan court on Thursday handed down 8-month prison sentences to 14 migrants for trying, along with hundreds of others, to scale a border fence separating the North African country from the autonomous Spanish enclave of Melilla in June.
The Nador Magistrate’s Court also ordered the defendants to pay fines of 2,000 dirhams ($194) each for the June 24 events.
The Moroccan Association for Human Rights, known as AMDH, said at least 27 migrants trying to enter Spain died that day and many others – migrants and police – been injured.
The AMDH condemned the decision, which was described as “very harsh against people who only seek refuge”.
The same court sentenced 33 migrants to 11 months in prison last month after they attempted to scale the border wall between Morocco and Melilla, also on June 24.
The trial of 28 additional immigrants from Sudan, Chad, Yemen and South Sudan who were detained after the attempted escalation has been postponed by the Nador appeals court to August 17, due to the absence of witnesses.
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The Associated Press
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