press releaseMilan — Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) asylum seekers in Spain's North African enclave, Ceuta, are exposed to harassment and abuse, Human Rights Watch said today. Despite staff efforts, asylum seekers cannot get the care and services there to which they have the right under Spanish law. LGBT asylum seekers are trapped in Ceuta by what Human Rights Watch believes to be a policy designed to deter asylum applications from all asylum seekers, except for Syrians, who manage to reach the enclave. A staff member told Human Rights Watch that other residents often "ridicule, harass, and attack" LGBT asylum seekers. Numerous Spanish court rulings have upheld the right of asylum seekers to freedom of movement within Spanish territory and ruled that preventing asylum seekers from traveling from the enclaves to the mainland constituted a violation of that right.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 28, 2017 11:15 UTC