Migrants Describe Mistreatment in Spanish Camp

Many of the migrants in a sprawling tent village in Ceuta came searching for better economic opportunities. Others fled war and violence, or sought refuge in Spain because of their gender or sexuality. Now, Spanish prosecutors are investigating reports of torture and mistreatment of migrants in Ceuta, including minors. Amnesty International published a report in September detailing allegations of inhumane treatment by Spanish soldiers. With a humanitarian crisis unfolding, some migrants trying to decide what to do next have come forward with allegations of abuse, the AP reports after interviewing them at the now-demolished camp. Their stories include:

• A Moroccan artisan: A 27-year-old recalled pressing his shirt against his head. The blood kept flowing. A group of Spanish soldiers had tied his head to a tree that September morning, he said, and struck him in the head, on the back and on his arms. The soldiers had approached him and another migrant and told them to follow, saying that their superior would register them, according to a police report he filed that the AP has reviewed. "They stuffed us into the trunk of a car, locked us in and drove us to the forest," he said in an interview on Oct. 1. His mouth was covered with gray electrical tape, he said. "When they were beating me, I saw death, only death," he said. "Imagine your face being tied to a tree while they strike your head, taking hit after hit, right to the front of your face." He received staples in his head, he said, and showed the AP his healing wounds. He said he wants to hold the soldiers to account. "I never thought anything like this could happen," the artisan said. "We truly believed the people here are good and that the government is decent."

• Threatened by family: A soft-spoken 34-year-old man left Tetouan, in northern Morocco, after his brother found pictures of him and his boyfriend on his phone and threatened to report them to the police. The brothers were already in a bitter dispute over the sale of a family home. In a previous argument, he said his brother had burned him with hot oil. Consensual sexual activity with members of the same sex is illegal in Morocco, and can be publishable by fines and up to three years imprisonment. Hundreds of men and women are prosecuted each year under such laws, according to the US State Department. Homosexuality is regularly cited as an asylum claim for Moroccans attempting to flee. "I left Morocco because being gay is so hard," he said.

• Critic of Islam: A 28-year-old Moroccan asylum seeker said he received death threats for posting content online that is critical of Islam. In 2025, he hosted TikTok livestreams focused on the religion. He began receiving death threats and says he was kidnapped in Marrakech by a follower. "That was the tipping point," he said. The AP was not able to independently verify his claims but viewed a copy of his asylum paperwork in which he detailed them to Spanish authorities. Publicly criticizing Islam in Morocco can lead to criminal prosecution, carrying prison sentences and fines. He crossed into Ceuta in July. "The first week was pure survival," he said. "It felt like running from zombies; some people wanted to attack you, others wanted to rob you." He fears for his safety if he is sent back to Morocco.