UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Pau Pérez-Sales called for a “prompt, effective and independent” investigation into allegations that Spanish military personnel abused migrants in Ceuta, in remarks to El País published Thursday, Oct. 1.
Pérez-Sales said some of the reported acts, if substantiated, could amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and, in certain circumstances, torture. He stressed that Spain is required under the UN Convention against Torture to investigate credible indications of abuse even without a formal complaint from an alleged victim.
His comments followed a Sept. 30 report by Amnesty International based on a visit to Ceuta from Sept. 10 to 15. The organization interviewed more than 65 migrants and asylum seekers and collected 22 direct testimonies alleging beatings, harassment, humiliation, theft of money and the confiscation or destruction of mobile phones. Amnesty said the allegations particularly concerned members of the Regulares and Spanish Legion.
Spain’s Defence Ministry responded Wednesday by sending Amnesty’s report to prosecutors and the duty court in Ceuta and ordering the Armed Forces Operations Command to open an internal investigation into possible individual responsibility.
Pérez-Sales welcomed those initial steps but said any investigation must be institutionally independent from the bodies implicated in the allegations.
He also called for alleged victims to receive prompt medical and psychological examinations under the Istanbul Protocol and warned against transfers or expulsions that could obstruct their access to justice.
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