[child-rights] Spain: Punishment cell in a child care centre of Melilla

OMCT Appeals
22/8/2002: Spain: punishment cell in a child care centre of Melilla
Children's Rights Programme

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Case ESP 210802.CC
CHILD CONCERN
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your urgent
intervention in the following situation in Spain.

Brief description of the facts

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable
source that the children of the care centre for minors "Fuerte de la
Purísima", in the autonomous town of Melilla, Spain, have been
victims of abuses and ill-treatment at the hands of the authorities
of the centre. According to the information received, the majority of
children are street children or immigrants and they attend schooling
in the aforementioned centre, where they also look for attention and
help. In particular, there have been allegations about the existence
of a «punishment cell», where the children are detained for several
hours, without food, drink or the possibility of using sanitary
facilities.

According to the reports, guardians and educators of the centre abuse
their authority to assault children arbitrarily and without
sufficient reasons, sometimes under the effects of strong ethylic
intoxication. There have been denunciations according to which
children are repeatedly subject to blows and inhuman treatment.

The same source of information reported the existence of various
testimonies of children who have witnessed or have been victims of
these abuses at the hands of the authorities of the care centre. One
of them, Muhaidine Azzazi, states that he has been detained for
nearly an entire day in the «punishment cell». The dimensions of the
cell are approximately 2 x 1,5 metres. The child, who was detained in
the cell on 6 July 2002, declared "to have been beaten against the
wall of the cell by Dani (one of the centre's educator) and one of
the security guards. Immediately after, he received a blow ('cate')
which left him unconscious and with his mouth bleeding". These
declarations have been backed up by an official complaint lodged by
the Asociación Pro Derechos de la Infancia (PRODEIN) to the public
prosecutor of Melilla. The complaint was accompanied by pictures and
tapes where the aforementioned declarations were recorded.

Azzazi declares having been held several times in the «punishment
cell» and on one occasion he was violently assaulted by a security
guard, whose name is Cortizo, who broke the camera the child was
trying to use to take evidence of the ill-treatment. After having
been beaten with truncheon and kicked, the child ran away through the
main door of the centre. The guards ran after him and after looking
seek for him and found him lying unconscious and bleeding at two
kilometres from the centre. He brought him back to the care centre
and he was afterwards transferred to the hospital.

Like this child, a significant number of children living at the care
centre "Fuerte de la Purísima" are allegedly ill-treated and abused
by the educators and security guards. The denunciation by PRODEIN
also mentions that the following children have been victims of
abuses: Mohamed Bounani, Yusef Kandouri, Sufian Bosous y Yaguar,
Abdelnaser, Karim, y Amin (the full name of these two last ones are
unknown).

After the complaints were lodged by PRODEIN, the detentions in the
«punishment cell» allegedly stopped and two of the children were
transferred to another care centre. Two security guards were
transferred to other institutions, yet they have not received any
corresponding sanction.

The authorities in Melilla deny that similar acts have taken place in
the care centre "Fuerte de la Purísima". Following an article on the
case published on the newspaper "El Mundo", the Mayor
(alcade-senador) of Melilla, Mr Juan José Imbroda, declared that he
was going to take legal actions against PRODEIN, accusing the
organisation of smear and defamation. In the same way, the Counsellor
for Social Welfare, Isabel Quesada, denied the facts and affirmed
that in the centre the educators are afraid of the denunciations and
that in this way one cannot educate the children because "one cannot
punish them if necessary".

The International Secretariat of OMCT expresses its grave concern
about the facts occurred in Melilla and is surprised by the fact that
the Autonomous Town, and in particular the Counsellor for Social
Welfare, have not open any parallel investigation into the facts and
into the possible errors in the correctional measures for children.
Such an investigation is even more necessary, given previous
allegations of ill-treatment and discrimination by the authorities of
street and migrant children coming from North Africa, ignoring the
best interest of the child.

OMCT wishes to recall that Spain is party to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child which forbids the practice of discrimination and
ill-treatment of children. In particular, article 2 on the
anti-discrimination; article 19 which states that "States Parties
shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and
educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical
or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment,
maltreatment (…) while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or
any other person who has the care of the child"; and article 37(a) on
the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Spanish authorities asking them to:

i. guarantee the safety, the physical and psychological integrity of
the aforementioned children, as well as of all children having been
victims of abuses in the care centre of Melilla;
ii. take all necessary measures to protect, educate, rehabilitate and
integrate all the children within the national territory, without
discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her
parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin,
property, disability, birth or other status (article 2 of the CRC);
iii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the
circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible,
bring them to a competent and impartial civil tribunal and apply the
penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental
freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and
international human rights standards and, in particular, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Addresses

· Presidencia del Gobierno, S.E. D. José María Aznar López, Complejo
de la Moncloa - 28071 Madrid.
· Portavoz del Gobierno, Dr. Pio Cabanillas; Fax: (+ 34) 91 321 40 30
· Director del Gabinete de la Presidencia, D. Carlos Aragones
Mendiguchia, Complejo de la Moncloa - Madrid Fax : (+ 34).91.390.0356
· Ministro del Interior - Jaime Mayor Oreja, Ministerio del Interior,
Paseo de la Castellana, 5 28071 Madrid Fax : (+ 34) 91.522.1538/(+
34).91.522.5865
· Defensor del Pueblo - Fernando Alvarez de Miranda y Torres Eduardo,
Defensoría del Pueblo, 31 - 28071 Madrid, Fax : (+ 34) 91 308 1158
· Consejo General del Poder Judicial - Presidente Francisco Javier
Delgado Barrio Marques de la Ensenada, 8 - 28071 Madrid Fax : (+ 34)
91 310 0306
· Fiscal General del Estado, Fiscalia General de Estado - Jesús
Cardenal Fortuny, 4 - 28071 Madrid Fax : (+ 34).91.319.3317
· Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores - Juan Abel Matutes, Ministerio de
Asuntos Exteriores, Plaza de la Provincia, 1 - 28071 Madrid Fax (+
34) 91 366 3856
· Ministro de Justicia, Dr. Ángel Acebes Paniagua, Ministerio de
Justicia, Madrid
Fax: (+ 34)9 1 390 22 68
· Tribunal Tutelar de Menores de Melilla, Fax: (+ 34) 95 268 05 29

Please also write to the embassies of Spain in your respective
country.

Geneva, 21 August 2002

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this
appeal in your reply.