The Government Council of Ceuta decided this Thursday, in an extraordinary session, to appear as a private prosecution in the proceedings instructed by the National Court to clarify what happened on July 30 and 31, when thousands of people accessed the autonomous city irregularly through the Tarajal border crossing.
According to what the Ceuta Executive has conveyed, the measure responds to the will to safeguard the interests of the City in light of events that, in their view, had a "direct and serious" impact on public goods and interests of Ceuta.
The regional government emphasizes that the mass entry of migrants notably affected the functioning of essential public services, citizen security and coexistence, as well as the system for the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors, which was subjected to intense pressure due to the increase in arrivals.
The local administration considers that its presence in the criminal case is key to defending the rights of the victims of the investigated events, whom it identifies as "the people of Ceuta," and to safeguard the institutional interests of the City itself.
At the same time, the Executive understands that intervening in the proceedings will help in the correct quantification of the damages suffered by the City and by the public services involved during the migration crisis at the end of July.
The Government of Ceuta also emphasizes that exercising the private prosecution will allow for the promotion, if applicable, of the clarification of any potential criminal and civil responsibilities arising from the events being analyzed by the National Court.
The National Court has open proceedings in order to determine the circumstances of the mass entry of migrants recorded in Ceuta in the last days of July, an episode that forced the activation of extraordinary attention, security, and reception devices in the autonomous city.