evidence: Melilla, along with Ceuta, is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities located on the African continent. Ceuta is geographically close to the city of Tangier, Morocco and the strait of Gibraltar. Melilla is further east in close proximity to the Moroccan city of Nador. Melilla's border with Morocco is comprised of three fences in succession of 6, 3, and 6 meters in height respectively. This border-fence structure is located on Spanish territory and its supervision, including the operation of its gates, remains under the exclusive control of Spanish authorities at all times. Spain acknowledges that its territory includes the border-fence structure. [...] On the night of 13 August 2014, a group of sub-Saharan individuals reached Spanish territory by using one of the few routes available to them: scaling the fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. Once they entered Spanish territory, most were stopped by the Spanish Guardia Civil within the Spanish border-fence structure. Following this incident, Spanish authorities then directly handed these individuals back to the Moroccan security forces within the fence structure. Those who did not manage to climb the fence high enough to escape the reach of the security forces, suffered particular violence. Others escaped ill-treatment by balancing atop the fences, hoping to be identified and processed in accordance with Spanish immigration law. [...] Case report: The Spanish-Moroccan land border in Melilla – A lawless zone for automatic expulsions