Audios of soldiers boasting about beating up immigrants in Ceuta are leaked: "Without gloves it's cooler"

BarcelonaAt least three Spanish soldiers deployed in Ceuta boast amidst laughter about beatings of immigrants during a surveillance shift. This is one of the audio recordings published this Thursday by Eldiario.es, in which one can hear how the soldiers describe assaults and vexatious treatment during a surveillance shift. "Without gloves it's cooler," says one of the participants, who explains that this way you can hear the sound of the blows better. The conversation took place on the night of September 21st to 22nd, at a point near the Temporary Stay Center for Immigrants (CETI).

In one of the fragments, a soldier explains how he and a colleague made two immigrants believe they wanted to help them with their documentation before making them go behind a vehicle. According to his account, one of the young men was struck by surprise. The other soldiers react with laughter. At another moment, the participants describe an alleged "test" in which an immigrant was supposedly forced to hit others, with reprisals for those who did not withstand the blows or did not cause enough harm. In fact, one of the soldiers compares the scene to the trials in the horror saga Saw.

The recordings also collect comments from the soldiers about the way they treat immigrants. Some claim that they prefer not to listen to their stories because they could make them feel compassion. In another passage, one of the participants claims that the immigrants "ask for it" and that it seems they enjoy receiving blows. In any case, Eldiario.es explains that it has not been able to identify the unit to which the soldiers belong and that it has distorted the voices to preserve their anonymity.

Amnesty International documents cases of "torture"

The investigation comes after weeks of reports from immigrants regarding beatings and harassment in the autonomous city. In September, Eldiario.es also published testimonies and videos showing alleged assaultsby soldiers. On September 30, Amnesty International released a reportthat documented reports of beatings, humiliations, and other mistreatment, some of which could constitute torture – a crime under international law. The Ministry of Defense forwarded the report to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Ceuta duty court and ordered an internal investigation to clarify possible individual responsibilities.

In this way, the publication of the audio recordings adds further elements to the reports regarding the actions of the armed forces during the migration crisis that began with the massive entry of people from Morocco at the end of July. On October 12, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, had defended the work of the soldiers deployed in Ceuta and had described the accusations against the military as "unjust criticism".