Spanish court orders expulsion of 82 Senegalese who arrived from Gambia

The Court of El Hierro, a remote Spanish Island located in the Canary Islands, has initiated the procedure to expel 82 migrants of Senegalese nationality from Spanish territory who reached the island last week aboard a boat with 119 occupants, a vessel that set sail from Gambia after a nine-day journey. Another five occupants, who were identified as minors, were excluded from this process, according to legal sources who indicated this to Europa Press.

The resolutions were signed over the weekend by substitute magistrates Antonio Mazuecos and Antonio Doreste, after the National Police requested their admission to a Foreigners’ Internment Center (CIE) as they did not have visas or valid documentation to legally enter Spain.

This return procedure is being carried out in parallel with the entry into force of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum approved by the European Union, which introduces changes in the management of migratory flows and return rules.

Relying on the 2000 immigration law, the judges approve the internment of those affected in a non-penitentiary center for a maximum period of 60 days with the aim of ensuring the execution of the return order, proceeding “in principle” with the confidence that Senegal will accept their readmission.

The rulings also consider that the measure is “essential” to be able to carry out the return, as no direct or indirect relatives with whom they live have been identified in Spain, nor any type of ties, which, in the opinion of the court, implies an evident risk of flight.

To guarantee the effectiveness of the procedure, it is authorised that the migrants remain at the CATE of San Andrés, on the island of El Hierro itself, until the competent police unit organizes their transfer to the Foreigners’ Internment Center that is determined.

Brothers I. and M. Dione are facing off in the Dakar criminal court. At the heart of their dispute: a 250-square-meter house in Ouakam, which they claim to have inherited from their late father. According to Les Échos, which attended the trial, each brother has filed a complaint against the other for building without permits and endangering the lives of others.