Amnesty International has criticized members of the Spanish Armed Forces for subjecting migrants in the occupied enclave of Ceuta to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
In a report based on a field investigation conducted between 10 and 15 September, the rights organization said it documented a pattern of serious abuses by Spanish military units, particularly the Regulares and the Legion, against migrants who remained in the enclave after the mass arrivals of late July.
Amnesty researchers interviewed more than 65 migrants and asylum-seekers and collected 22 direct testimonies. Victims included women and unaccompanied minors.
The organization said some of the documented acts, due to their severity, may constitute torture under international law.
According to the testimonies, Spanish soldiers carried out night-time raids, often while hooded, during which they beat migrants with batons and boots, sprayed irritants in their faces, and subjected them to systematic humiliation.
Several accounts describe people being zip-tied, forced into vehicle trunks, gagged, beaten against trees or walls, and thrown down embankments.
Other alleged practices include forcing Muslim migrants to kneel and kiss a Christian cross, ordering young men to shave their heads, preventing people from sleeping, confiscating or destroying mobile phones, and repeatedly threatening migrants to leave the enclave.
Amnesty said it reviewed photographs and videos showing injuries consistent with the accounts, including head wounds and marks left by restraints.
These findings echo earlier concerns raised by Morocco’s National Human Rights Council (CNDH).
In its preliminary report published in August, the CNDH said it had collected multiple and consistent testimonies from returnees alleging ill-treatment and physical assaults by Spanish security forces, particularly in places far from cameras.
Following Amnesty’s report, Spain’s Defense Ministry referred the allegations to prosecutors and ordered an internal investigation. Amnesty International called for a thorough and independent probe and for any personnel implicated to be immediately suspended from duty.
The revelations further highlight the human cost of Spain’s management of migration in the occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
