Madrid - (AFP) - The Spanish Public Prosecutor announced Friday that it has closed its investigation into the killing of 23 African migrants while trying to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco on June 24.

This move relieves the pressure that Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has been under for months because of the tragedy.

Morocco estimated the death toll at 23, while Amnesty International and independent experts estimated 37 victims, in the worst toll ever at the borders between Morocco and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, which represent the only borders of the European Union on the African continent.

Most of the migrants are Sudanese, and their attempt to cross the fence sparked a two-hour standoff. Morocco said that some of them died after falling off the fence, while others suffocated due to the panic and the stampede that followed.

In a report issued this month, Amnesty International condemned the two countries for committing a "massacre", criticizing what it described as "mass killings, enforced disappearances, acts of torture, discrimination and racism".

However, the Spanish Public Prosecutor said in a statement that it had not found "indications of misdemeanours" in the behavior of the elements of the Spanish "security forces" during this tragedy.

"We cannot conclude that the actions of the security forces increased the risks to the lives and physical safety of the migrants, and therefore we cannot accuse them of manslaughter," she added.

The public prosecution described the migrants as "hostile and violent" towards the Moroccan and Spanish police.
"None of them was aware of the stampede that occurred" at the fence "nor of its fatal consequences, so at no time did they know that there were people in danger who needed help," she added.

However, it said it had sent security officials to take possible disciplinary action against police officers suspected of throwing stones at migrants.

The Public Prosecution Office urged the government to establish a better mechanism to allow migrants to submit asylum claims rather than attempting to cross the border illegally.

In its report, based on the testimonies of migrants, Amnesty International states that the security forces targeted them with tear gas canisters, throwing stones, and beating and kicking them on the ground.

The Public Prosecution's decision came only months after the normalization of relations between Spain and Morocco after a diplomatic dispute.

But it also raised other troubling questions and sharp criticism from one of the deputies of the separatist Basque party Bieldo.

"It is a shame that, in light of the biggest massacre ever at the Spanish border, the Public Prosecutor's Office decided to turn a blind eye," parliamentarian Jhon Iñárritu told Basque TV.

He added, "The investigations conducted by media outlets - which have much less investigative capacity - go much further and clearly point to serious criminal acts."

NGOs and independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council reported 37 deaths and described the lack of accountability in both Rabat and Madrid as “alarming”.

In November, investigations published by the BBC and the European media union, Lighthouse Reports, denounced the brutality of the Moroccan forces and also questioned the behavior of the Spanish forces.

Iñárritu concluded by saying that the Public Prosecutor's Office "has decided to turn the page and not bother the government because it is pressing for stronger relations with Morocco and this may make it more difficult."