Spain: Government must take action to protect human rights defender Helena Maleno
13 April 2021
An open letter is calling on the government of Spain to act to protect Helena Maleno, a human rights defender who has saved tens of thousands of lives and who was recently violently deported from Morocco, where she has lived for 20 years, and separated from her daughter in the process.
The letter, coordinated by the organisation that Maleno founded,
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders), calls for the Spanish government to publicly recognise the positive impact of her work as a human rights defender, an end to criminalisation and harassment, the protection of Maleno and her family, and reparations for the damages caused to them.