Migrants in Ceuta tent camp allege abuse as Spanish prosecutors investigate

Spanish prosecutors are investigating allegations of torture and mistreatment of migrants in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on Morocco's northern coast, following interviews at a tent camp that has since been demolished. The Associated Press spoke with multiple migrants who said they had been abused, including one who filed a police report that the AP reviewed. Amnesty International published a report in September detailing allegations of inhumane treatment by Spanish soldiers.

A 27-year-old Moroccan artisan told the AP that Spanish soldiers tied his head to a tree on a September morning and beat him on the head, back and arms, leaving him bleeding. He said the soldiers approached him and another migrant, told them a superior would register them, then locked them in the trunk of a car and drove them to a forest. He spoke anonymously, citing fear for his safety, and showed the AP head wounds that required staples. He said he wants to hold the soldiers accountable.

A 19-year-old transgender man said he swam to Ceuta from the Moroccan city of Fnideq in July and expected to be placed in a shelter, but instead spent nearly two months at the beachside camp. He left Morocco because of the difficulties of being transgender, he said, and was later expelled by extended family in Ceuta after they learned about his identity. Spain's asylum law recognizes gender identity and sexual orientation as grounds for protection, with cases assessed individually. He returned to Morocco in early October after police cleared the camp.

A 34-year-old gay man from Tetouan said he fled after his brother found photos of him with his boyfriend and threatened to report them to police, amid an existing dispute over the sale of a family home. Consensual same-sex activity is illegal in Morocco and can carry fines and up to three years in prison, with hundreds of people prosecuted annually under such laws, according to the U.S. State Department.

A 28-year-old asylum seeker said he received death threats over TikTok livestreams in 2025 that were critical of Islam, and that he was kidnapped in Marrakech by a follower. The AP said it could not independently verify the claims but viewed his asylum paperwork, in which he detailed them to Spanish authorities. He crossed into Ceuta in July, describing his first week there as "pure survival," and said he fears for his safety if sent back to Morocco.

The accounts emerged from a camp where migrants had arrived for varied reasons: some seeking economic opportunity, others fleeing war, violence or persecution. The camp has since been torn down, leaving many of those interviewed weighing whether to pursue justice in Spain, seek safety elsewhere or return home.