Spain's Defence Ministry has sent Amnesty International's report to prosecutors and a Ceuta court. The report alleges abuse against migrants and asylum seekers, while the armed forces will conduct an internal review.
Amnesty International visited Ceuta from 10 to 15 September and interviewed more than 65 migrants and asylum seekers. The group also met journalists, non-governmental organisations, prosecutors and representatives of the autonomous government.
Spain's Defence Ministry will send the report to the Fiscalía and the Juzgado de Guardia de Ceuta. It has also told the Mando de Operaciones to examine possible individual responsibility among military personnel deployed in the autonomous city.
The allegations are serious.
Amnesty International says it identified 22 direct testimonies of beatings, humiliation, phone confiscation and other alleged abuses among more than 65 interviews with migrants and asylum seekers.
Amnistía Internacional says some testimonies describe cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that could amount to torture. The organisation also criticised the reception conditions faced by people who stayed in Ceuta after the mass arrival from Morocco.
That arrival involved more than 80,000 people, according to the report. The report was published two months after the crisis began. Reuters separately reported that more than 72,000 migrants reached Ceuta during the July border crisis, showing that estimates of the emergency's scale differ.
Among those interviewed were 31 minors and 26 women. Two of the women were pregnant. The organisation also collected accounts involving unaccompanied children.
The delegation spoke with people who described alleged beatings, humiliation and the seizure of phones. Spanish media reports also referred to claims of baton strikes, cable ties, threats, phones being confiscated or destroyed, and Muslim people being forced to kiss a cross.
Some accounts involved women and children.
Esteban Beltrán, Amnistía Internacional's director in Spain, said the alleged assaults had not stopped. He said the latest reported incident took place a few days before the statement was issued. Beltrán added that many journalists had gathered similar testimonies.
Amnesty’s account includes allegations of beatings with batons, restraint with cable ties, threats and the confiscation or destruction of phones. These claims remain allegations to be assessed by prosecutors and the internal military inquiry.
Beltrán described thousands of people as living in undignified conditions in Ceuta. He referred to women and girls left without protection in the streets. He also mentioned reports of rape and sexual assault.
Amnistía Internacional has written to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Ceuta's president Juan Jesús Vivas. The letters call for an urgent investigation into the allegations and for the reported actions by military personnel to stop. They also demand dignified conditions for migrants and asylum seekers.
The Defence Ministry says the inquiry will establish whether individual responsibility exists. It also says the process will protect the reputation and proper conduct of the Armed Forces.
That does not settle the allegations. It gives the report an official route to prosecutors and the duty court in Ceuta. Spanish media reports confirm that the ministry sent the materials to both authorities and opened the internal review through the Mando de Operaciones.
The case involves alleged treatment of minors, pregnant women and unaccompanied children. It also concerns wider failures in reception conditions. Prosecutors and military investigators will need to separate verified facts from testimony. The people who reported abuse still need protection.
Al Jazeera reported that some people it interviewed also described abuse by individuals in military or police uniforms. Spanish authorities denied wrongdoing and said human rights were being respected.
