Survivor with loss of vision after deadly Spanish border operation files complaint

Brice O. (anonymized for his protection) filed a complaint to the UN Committee Against Torture challenging Spain’s failure to investigate its use of anti-riot material during the deadly border operation at El Tarajal, Ceuta on 6 February 2014, which caused him permanent loss of sight in one eye. With the support of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Irídia – Center for the Defence of Human Rights, he seeks to hold Spain accountable for its failure to prevent, investigate or redress the harm caused by Guardia Civil officers. 

At least 14 dead and countless injured and disappeared: this was the outcome of the brutal pushback operation on 6 February 2014 by the Spanish Guardia Civil - a paramilitary police force - at the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the beach of El Tarajal.

On 6 February 2014, it was still dark as swimmers struggled to stay afloat in waters around the seawall separating Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. After Guardia Civil officers began firing anti-riot material toward people in the water, Brice O. felt something impact his eye. Although there was no protocol regulating the use of this anti-riot material in the water, officers used at least 145 rubber bullets, 355 blanks, and 5 smoke devices in 21 minutes. Brice O. describes choking and gasping for air. 

Over a decade later, the victims and their families continue to seek justice. After an interim decision to hold a criminal trial against 16 Guardia Civil officers, national proceedings were closed three times by the investigating judge in Ceuta. In July 2020, the Audiencia Provincial in Cádiz confirmed the decision. Spain's Supreme Court dismissed the subsequent appeals and archived the case in 2022. Later that year, NGOs and relatives of the deceased filed complaints in front of Spain's Constitutional Court which are still pending. 

Since the 90s, operations at these borders have been characterized by reliance on ill-treatment against Black individuals in particular, including reliance on the inadequately regulated use of anti-riot material, and a practice maintained by complete impunity that reflects Spain’s consistent failure to conduct effective investigations for alleged ill-treatment. Despite over two decades of reports of violence, injuries, and deaths during border operations not a single officer has been convicted or put on trial.

The impact of ongoing lack of accountability was visible during the 24 June 2022 “Melilla massacre,” where at least 27 Black migrants died and at least 77 disappeared after Spain again employed rubber bullets and chemical irritants on hundreds trapped in a small courtyard within a border checkpoint.