Amnesty International has denounced torture and abuse by members of the Spanish armed forces against migrants remaining in Ceuta after the massive entry at the end of July, a situation in which, according to the organization, many people continue to live in poor conditions without enough food or adequate access to healthcare.
The NGO presented the results of a visit carried out between September 10 and 15 to the autonomous city, when it interviewed more than 65 migrants and held meetings with other organizations, the Prosecutor's Office, and representatives of the Government of Ceuta. According to the entity, two months after the irregular entry into the autonomous city of tens of thousands of people, estimated by the organization at 80,000 during July 30 and 31, the situation remains one of extreme vulnerability.
Amnesty International has sent its conclusions by letter to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and to the President of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, to whom it demands “urgent actions” to guarantee humanitarian aid, dignified reception, and specialized attention for at-risk minors. The organization also warns of the “context of increasing dehumanization of migrants and the intensification of hate speech” surrounding this migratory crisis.
Beatings, insults, and degrading practices
In its investigation, the NGO claims to have graphically and audiovisually documented bruised bodies compatible, it indicates, with blows from regulation batons, some of them to the head. Among the degrading practices included in the report are insults, constant threats to leave the city, harassment to prevent them from sleeping at night and moving around Ceuta during the day, as well as abuses such as forcing them to kneel to kiss a Christian cross despite being Muslim or taking away their food if they refused to obey an order.
One of the testimonies included in the report recounts the story of a young man who states: “They zip-tied me and put me in the trunk. When they took me out, they gagged my mouth and hit my face against a tree, and then they hit me with batons and punches. When they finished, they threw me down an embankment.” The organization says it has found marks on the wrists compatible with that account.
“We have orders for them not to feel comfortable”
Amnesty International emphasizes that it has also documented “daily harassment of a racist, xenophobic, and Islamophobic nature” which, in its opinion, seeks to wear down migrants. The entity maintains that they are prevented from entering the city center and shops or supermarkets through “aggressive identifications” by military personnel.
In its statement, the organization reports that a team witnessed a group of soldiers approaching racialized people sitting on a bench near the city center to ask them if they were from there and force them to leave the place. When asked about the reason for this action, it claims to have received this response: “We have orders for them not to feel comfortable.”
Lack of healthcare and people sleeping on the street
The NGO denounces that migrants in Ceuta do not have access to adequate humanitarian and healthcare, as they receive only one meal a day, for which many people have to walk for hours and queue for more than three hours in the sun, while healthcare is provided at the same time in another place, forcing them to choose between eating or being treated for injuries and illnesses.
Amnesty International also collects testimonies that point to discrimination and racist and xenophobic comments by healthcare staff in the hospital, where, according to these statements, migrants are referred to as “invaders” and are forced to remain on the street and not in the emergency waiting room, even in the case of people with open head wounds or minors.
Another of the organization's complaints is that hundreds of women and minors without adult references continue to sleep on the street or in informal settlements, without access to showers or toilets. Some of these children, the entity adds, go to the police almost daily to ask for protection, but are constantly refused, as officers delegate this responsibility to local entities that, in many cases, are at their capacity limit.
Dehumanization, hoaxes, and attacks on those who help
The organization concludes that all of this occurs in a context of dehumanization and intensification of hate speech towards migrants by authorities and politicians. Amnesty International states that during its visit it was able to verify the effects of this stigmatizing and abusive rhetoric, which is not limited to pitting “Spaniards” against “immigrants,” but extends hostility to those who help migrants or question these discourses.
In this context, the entity cites attacks on activists from Luna Blanca and No Name Kitchen. Furthermore, as the statement explains, Amnesty International's own delegation was identified by the Police during its investigation and suffered harassment and insults from a group of soldiers patrolling near the hospital on September 11, when one of them snapped at them: “Hippie scum, go suck it!”.
