A migrant in a wheelchair, with serious injuries to his ankles, arms and torso, says he was pushed by soldiers from a height of more than six metres. When Amnesty International spoke to him in Ceuta, he complained that he had not even been given an X-ray and had only received an emergency bandage.
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His is one of the accounts included in an investigation that describes beatings, humiliations and summary expulsions from Cueta and which, according to the organisation, reveals abuses that could amount to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Blows with batons and boots, people restrained with cable ties, attacks to the head and threats ordering them to leave Ceuta all appear in the testimonies collected. The organisation says these episodes, which witnesses attribute to members of the Spanish Armed Forces, “seem to follow a pattern”, particularly in operations by Regulares and Legion units.
Amnesty is calling for them to be investigated independently and exhaustively and for any potential criminal and disciplinary responsibility to be established.
Following the publication of Amnesty International’s report, Spain’s Ministry of Defence has told Euronews the decision has been taken to refer it to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Duty Court in Ceuta.
“The Operations Command is urged to investigate and determine any potential individual liability, in order to uphold the professional conduct and reputation of the Armed Forces,” the ministry said.
The investigation was carried out in Ceuta between 10 and 15 September. Amnesty interviewed more than 65 people and gathered 22 direct testimonies that blame soldiers for beatings, harassment, humiliations, theft of money and the confiscation or destruction of mobile phones.
The organisation has documented injuries that match the migrants’ accounts.
Among the documented cases is that of a young Moroccan who said he had been unable to walk for 25 days after being pushed from a height of at least six metres by a soldier while he was sleeping near the chapel of San Antonio de Padua. Two other young men reported that they were struck with batons and punched while they were immobilised with cable ties. Amnesty says it has verified the marks these restraints left on their wrists.
The organisation also denounces possible unlawful expulsions. According to testimonies and videos to which it says it has had access, some soldiers allegedly wearing hoods acted at night, beating migrants or spraying them with irritant spray before carrying out their summary expulsion over the Tarajal fence back into Morocco.
Amnesty also documents the case of a Yemeni citizen who had expressed his intention to request international protection and who says he was expelled without any procedure. According to his account, he was taken along with dozens of others to the border and handed over to the Moroccan police. The organisation says it has seen documentation that backs up his version.
“We have orders to make sure they don’t feel comfortable”
Amnesty’s investigation also reports racist, xenophobic and Islamophobic harassment that, it says, is spilling into Cueta’s population. According to the organisation, residents of Ceuta perceived as being of Moroccan origin have been subjected to ID checks or restrictions on access to certain areas of the city, shops and supermarkets.
Amnesty’s own team says it witnessed one of these incidents. During its visit, several soldiers approached a group of people who were talking while seated on a bench near the city centre, asked them if “they were from here” and ordered them to leave.
When the researchers asked why they were being forced to leave, one of the soldiers replied: “We have orders to make sure they don’t feel comfortable”.
Amnesty’s delegation says it too suffered harassment during its investigation. On 11 September, while it was questioning the removal of people considered migrants from the vicinity of Ceuta University Hospital, its members were asked for identification by the National Police and were insulted by a group of soldiers patrolling near the health centre.
Unregistered asylum seekers
Amnesty also warns of possible violations of the right to asylum. During its visit it interviewed people from countries in conflict such as Somalia and Yemen who had arrived in Ceuta before 30 July and whose international protection procedures, according to the organisation, had still not begun.
The organisation says that some of these people had not even been interviewed to identify if they were vulnerable and had not received sufficient information on how to request international protection.
The investigation also highlights the situation of minors who remain in Ceuta. According to institutional figures gathered by Amnesty, 2,383 unaccompanied migrant children have been identified and between 500 and 700 are still living on the streets without any form of support. Some are just 12 or 13 years old.
Amnesty says it has spoken to unaccompanied minors who go almost daily to police stations to ask for protection and who, according to their testimonies, are repeatedly turned away. The organisation argues that this situation breaches the protection obligations that must be activated when the authorities encounter a child without a responsible adult.
The situation also affects hundreds of women. The organisation estimates that around 800, some accompanied by their children, are living on the streets. During its visit it found families sleeping in the open and others housed in improvised spaces without showers or toilets.
Amnesty calls for complaints to be investigated
Following its investigation, Amnesty International has sent letters to the prime minister of Spain and the president of Ceuta to share its conclusions and call for urgent measures.
The organisation is calling for a “prompt, impartial, independent and thorough” investigation into the allegations of abuse, including those that may amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It also demands that soldiers allegedly involved in assaults be temporarily removed from duty while the facts are clarified and that any possible criminal and disciplinary responsibilities be determined.
The organisation nonetheless acknowledges the complexity of the situation facing the Armed Forces and security forces deployed in Ceuta and recalls that more than 30 migrants have been arrested for assaults on soldiers. It stresses, however, that this situation does not exempt state agents from their obligation to respect national and international law and human rights.
