CAT/C/47/D/368/2008
article 1, paragraph 1, and article 16, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention. Spain made
the declaration under article 22 of the Convention on 21 October 1987. The complainant is
represented by counsel Alberto J. Revuelta Lucerga.
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
On the night of 26 September 2007, a group of four African migrants (three men and
one woman), one of whom was Mr. Lauding Sonko, attempted to enter the Autonomous
City of Ceuta by swimming along the coast between Belionex and Benzú. Each person had
a dinghy and a wetsuit. At 5.05 a.m., a vessel of the Spanish Civil Guard intercepted the
four swimmers, who were pulled up alive onto the vessel. Having been taken to the vicinity
of Bastiones Beach, in Moroccan territorial waters, they were made to jump into the water,
at a place where they were out of their depth. Beforehand, the Civil Guard officers had
punctured all the migrants’ dinghies except that of the woman.
2.2
Mr. Sonko clung to the rail of the vessel, saying repeatedly that he did not know
how to swim, but the Civil Guard officers forced him to let go and threw him into the sea.
Mr. Sonko was calling for help and was having great difficulty in reaching the shore, so
that one of the Civil Guard officers jumped into the water to help him and save him from
drowning. Once on the shore, the officer began to perform heart massage on him. Mr.
Sonko died shortly thereafter, despite the efforts made to revive him, and was buried in an
unmarked grave in Santa Catalina cemetery.
2.3
On 28 September 2007, Examining Court No. 1 of Ceuta, in the course of a
preliminary inquiry, dismissed the proceedings initiated in connection with the death of Mr.
Sonko based on its finding that it was not competent to hear a case concerning events that
had occurred in Moroccan territory.
2.4
On 4 and 9 October 2007, the complainant requested that the Ombudsman
investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr. Sonko’s death. On 12 November 2007, the
Ombudsman apprised the Attorney General of the events, and on 14 December 2007, the
Attorney General ordered that the necessary steps be taken to determine the facts of the
matter.
2.5
On 9 May 2008, one of the immigrants who had been part of the group, Mr. Dao
Touré, submitted a written statement concerning the events of September 2007 to
Examining Court No. 1 of Ceuta, which appears in Preliminary Inquiry No. 1135/2007. In
his statement, he said that:
“At no time did [the migrants] state that they wished to seek asylum in Spain, but
[the Civil Guard officers] did not speak to them in French either, nor did they
attempt to communicate with them in any way. There were only two Civil Guard
officers in the vessel. They did not understand anything that the migrants said and
appeared to be arguing; finally, they headed for Belionex Beach.
They stopped the boat just off Belionex Beach. They were not far from the shore,
but they were not really close either. (...) With a knife [the Civil Guard officers]
punctured all the migrants’ dinghies, except that of the woman, and threw them into
the water, at a place where they were all out of their depth. There was a group of
Moroccan soldiers waiting for them on the beach. The first to be thrown into the
water was the Senegalese, who grabbed the boat rail as he fell. He was very nervous
and kept repeating that he did not know how to swim, but the Civil Guard officers
forcibly pried his hands off the rail and threw him into the sea. (...) But the
Senegalese was drowning and he kept shouting for help: ‘aide-moi, aide-moi ...’
(help me, help me ...). So then one of the Civil Guard officers jumped into the water,
while the other watched from the boat. The Civil Guard officer took hold of the
GE.12-40869
3