Guardia Civil searches two Ceuta NGOs over alleged pepper spray handouts to migrants

The searches

On Thursday, 22 October, Guardia Civil officers searched premises used by two aid groups in Ceuta, No Name Kitchen and Brigadas de Apoyo Mutuo. The operation began early in the morning, with dozens of officers involved and about ten vans surrounding one of the homes, according to eldiario.es. El País reports that the searched sites were a building on calle Argentina, used by No Name Kitchen as an office and residence, and an industrial unit in the El Tarajal estate used by Brigadas de Apoyo Mutuo. Other outlets place the searches in the Almadraba area and the Tarajal industrial estate. Officers were looking for specific activists, who were not located, according to eldiario.es. The searches were authorised by a judicial order, and the operation remained open at the time of reporting.

The allegations

The inquiry centres on an alleged plan to hand out pepper spray and bladed weapons to migrants who have been in Ceuta since the mass entry at the end of July, with the aim, allegedly, of having them used against police and military personnel. According to the judicial order cited by El País, eight people are under investigation. The offences examined are the possession and distribution of dangerous instruments, with narcotic substances possibly to be added. At least two witnesses have told investigators, independently of each other, that they received items including pepper spray and knives in those premises. One witness identifies a specific person who handed him a knife, and investigators have taken possession of a knife and an aerosol that a witness says he received there. The magistrate wrote that the evidence goes beyond mere suspicion and that there are sufficient grounds to think items linked to a criminal offence may be found in the building.

Arrests and summonses

Reports on detentions conflict. ABC reports that a man and a woman have been arrested in the case, one of them located in Morocco, and that six people are sought to testify as witnesses. La Vanguardia reports that one member of No Name Kitchen was arrested, and that three migrant men were taken to police premises to be identified. eldiario.es and El País report that no one was detained, and El País adds that no arrests had emerged from the operation.

The NGOs respond

No Name Kitchen said in a statement that agents broke down the door of its premises without knocking or giving prior notice, and that team members were forced to the floor and handcuffed. The group described its members in these terms:

They are volunteers and human rights defenders who carry out basic humanitarian work: distributing food, treating wounds and offering legal accompaniment to people in vulnerable situations.

The organisation also calls the search part of a campaign of criminalisation against a group that often publicises alleged abuses by security forces against migrants. It says it has faced defamation and hoaxes over the past two months about pepper spray and explosives, which it considers already debunked. According to El País, both No Name Kitchen and Brigadas de Apoyo Mutuo reject the accusations and say their work is limited to humanitarian aid and documenting possible rights violations.

What comes next

The operation remains open. Investigators are seeking six people to testify, and the judicial order covers eight people under investigation. Sources do not yet agree on whether any detentions were made.