Amnesty International reports alleged torture and abuse of migrants by Spanish troops in Ceuta
Amnesty International says Spanish army units, including Regulares and the Legion, have tortured and mistreated migrants and asylum seekers in Ceuta after a large influx in late July.
Amnesty International’s September fact-finding mission to Ceuta gathered over 65 migrant testimonies, of which 22 detailed direct abuse by Spanish army personnel, notably Regulares and Legion units. Victims reported beatings with batons, forced kneeling, confiscation of phones, and sexualized insults toward women, with several cases involving minors sustaining head injuries and severe bruising. Video evidence showed masked soldiers attacking migrants at night and expelling them through the Tarajal fence.
The NGO also observed military harassment of migrants waiting for medical care at the Hospital Universitario de Ceuta. In a letter to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Ceuta mayor Juan Jesús Vivas, Amnesty called for an urgent, impartial investigation and immediate humanitarian assistance for vulnerable groups, warning of possible racist motives behind the attacks.
How the sides frame it
HIGH AGREEMENTAll camps report Amnesty International’s allegations and Spain’s decision to investigate, but left-leaning coverage emphasizes the denunciation of torture, centrist coverage stresses calls for an independent inquiry and official investigations, and right-leaning coverage highlights the procedural probe after the rights-group claim.
LEFT
Denounces alleged torture and cruel treatment of migrants by Spanish troops, stressing a pattern of abuse against vulnerable people.
CENTER
Reports calls for a prompt, independent inquiry and the Spanish government’s launch of investigations into the allegations.
RIGHT
Notes that Spain has opened a probe after a rights group’s allegations, focusing on the procedural response.
The left emphasises
- "tortura y otros tratos crueles, inhumanos y degradantes"
- "miembros de las Fuerzas Armadas españolas"
- "parecen responder a un patrón contra personas migrantes"
The right emphasises
- "Spain orders probe after rights group alleges"
- "ordered an internal probe into whether any personnel were to blame"
- "rights group accused members of Spain's armed forces of torture"
How this story developed
- Sep 11 Frontex reports 34% rise in Strait crossings despite missing July Ceuta surge
- Sep 16 The Guardia Civil raided a cramped apartment on Real street in central Ceuta, finding 25 migrants - six of them minors - living in squalid conditions.
- Sep 18 The Audiencia Nacional's Contentious‑Administrative Chamber approved the use of Ceuta port for a temporary migrant shelter.
- Sep 18 about 850 migrants were settled in 50 tents at the port while others returned to beach camps
- Sep 19 The port camp filled within hours, leaving many migrants still without shelter on the streets and beaches.
- Sep 26 Morocco’s foreign minister announced the country's readiness to receive Ceuta migrants at the UN General Assembly.
- Sep 28 Frontex added that the western Mediterranean corridor recorded a 34% rise.
- Oct 1 etc
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