• The claimant, who lost vision in one eye due to the use of riot control material, takes his case to the UN over the State’s lack of investigation.

A survivor has filed a new complaint with the Committee Against Torture over the lack of investigation into the use of riot control equipment during the border operation on February 6, 2014, at El Tarajal beach (Ceuta), which caused him to lose vision in one eye. With the support of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Irídia – Center for the Defense of Human Rights, Brice O. accuses Spain of failing to prevent and investigate ill-treatment and to provide reparation to the victims.

You can watch the press conference broadcast here.

Brice O. was in the water in the dark when he was hit in the eye by riot control projectiles that morning. Despite the lack of an operational protocol regulating the use of such material in water and the fact that Civil Guard officers are not trained for this, they used, on February 6, 2014, at least 145 rubber bullets, 355 projection cartridges (blanks), and 5 smoke canisters within just 21 minutes.

“As a victim of rubber bullets, I find it incredibly dangerous that they are used. I am speaking today as a witness, having been left disabled in one eye,” explains Brice O., adding symptoms of asphyxiation, “I was struggling to breathe, so I opened my mouth, but then I swallowed seawater.”

The Spanish State has acknowledged that at least 14 people died, and autopsies of the 5 bodies found in Spain confirmed death by drowning. Despite forensic evidence confirming injuries caused by rubber bullets, authorities never attempted to contact the survivors, who were only a few kilometers away, systematically excluding them from the judicial process. “The Tarajal investigation was a farce. There was no legal assessment of the force used by the Civil Guard. After 11 years, it is a disgrace, and Spain must properly investigate this deadly border operation,” says Hanaa Hakiki, director of the Border Justice program at ECCHR.

After 11 years of impunity and the case’s final closure, it is now awaiting a ruling from the Constitutional Court, following an appeal filed by CEAR, APDHE, and Coordinadora de Barrios. Some of the victims and their families are still awaiting a decision. “This is an opportunity to establish constitutional doctrine that protects the right to life of migrants at the borders, to prevent these tragic events from happening again, and to finally grant families access to truth, justice, and reparation,” says Elena Muñoz from CEAR.

“For decades, the Spanish-Moroccan border has been a scene of human rights violations and impunity, particularly affecting Black people in a violent and severe manner. Both in the case of El Tarajal in 2014 and the events of June 24, 2022, in Melilla, we see how the indiscriminate use of riot control equipment, illegal pushbacks combined with exceptional measures, and the lack of effective investigations lead to life-threatening situations and ultimately to the deaths of Black people trying to cross this border,” states Maite Daniela Lo Coco from Irídia. Neither the reasons behind this complaint nor the lack of investigation surrounding it are isolated incidents in border contexts, both within the EU and in Spain.

Rubber bullets are uncontrollable, potentially lethal, and torturous ammunition, making it impossible to predict their trajectory and thus to ensure they do not hit sensitive body areas. The United Nations clearly states that kinetic energy projectiles must not be fired above the waist, nor used for crowd dispersal—let alone against people swimming who pose no threat to officers or third parties. Due to their indiscriminate nature and lack of traceability, the use of rubber bullets endangers fundamental rights and people’s physical integrity.

For years, affected groups such as the Stop Rubber Bullets platform have been demanding their prohibition in the National Police and Civil Guard, just as has been done in Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Navarra. “International law prohibits their indiscriminate use and never above the waist. They are potentially lethal weapons. Their lack of traceability makes accountability impossible,” recalls Carles Guillot, from Stop Rubber Bullets.

This complaint is part of the ongoing human rights monitoring work at the border carried out jointly by Irídia and NOVACT.