Madrid police are investigating a vicious homophobic attack in which eight masked men forcibly broke into the home of a young gay man, held him down with a knife, and carved the word “homosexual” on one of his hips.
The attack took place on Sunday afternoon near Malasaña in central Madrid, two months later. Murder of Samuel Louis, A 24-year-old gay man was beaten to death when he was out with friends in the Galician city of La Coruña. The killing caused national resentment and protests, and triggered calls for action to address hate speech and protect the LGBTI population.
A Policía Nacional spokesperson stated that the investigation into the Madrid attack is continuing, which occurred at 5.15 pm on Sunday.
“When the 20-year-old victim was entering his home, eight people — all wearing headscarves and hats — managed to force their way into his hallway,” he said.
“They insulted him, threatened him with a knife, and cut his lower lip and buttocks.”
The spokesperson added: “The focus of the investigation is on closed-circuit television recordings and finding witnesses to identify the alleged attackers.”
The attack was condemned by politicians from all sides. Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that there is no room for such hatred.
“I condemn this homophobic attack in the strongest terms,” He tweeted“We will not support it. We will continue to work for an open and diverse country where no one is afraid to be ourselves, and we can all live there safely and freely.”
Sanchez will chair an emergency meeting of the Anti-Hate Crime Committee on Friday, and a demonstration will be held in Madrid the next day.
The mayor of the capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida of the conservative People’s Party (PP) called on the attackers to face “full responsibility for the law” and stated that his government is committed to eradicating “Any form of terrorism.”
But the mayor opposes those who believe that the far-right Vox party’s remarks—helping his coalition government to take power—are responsible for the growing number of anti-LGBTI climates. Vox has Statement of organizations opposed to supporting LGBTI rights In Madrid, Catalonia and Valencia, and Criticize the decision to fly the rainbow flag From Madrid City Hall during the pride celebrations.
in a Interview with Cadena Ser Radio on Monday night, Martínez-Almeida said: “I think it might be too much to equate Vox’s information with what happened on the streets of Madrid yesterday… Claiming that Vox and its information may lead to [Sunday’s attack] …This is a very unfair comparison. “
Rocío Monasterio, the leader of the Vox in the Madrid Regional Assembly, stated that the party also condemned the “so-called attack” and insisted that no one should be affected by their sexual orientation. attack.
However, the words of Martínez-Almeida and Monasterio are Rejected by the Spanish National Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual FederationThe organization stated that it had spent several months warning that “hate speech would lead to collective attacks on LGBTI” and added: “In the face of extreme LGBTI attacks like Madrid, the country’s representatives believe this is Unreasonable. PP legitimizes hate speech from Vox, thereby exacerbating this escalation. When it comes to hate, we must be unambiguous. It can never help or justify.”
A sort of Research published last year A survey by the European Union’s Fundamental Rights Agency found that 41% of the people surveyed in Spain had experienced some form of harassment in the past 12 months because they were LGBTIs. It also found that 32% of respondents in Spain often or always avoid certain places or locations because they are afraid of being attacked, threatened or harassed because of LGBTI.
