Why does Spanish justice not define the murder of Samuel, the beaten gay boy, as a homophobic crime?

Almost ten days after the murder with Samuel luiz, a 24-year-old caregiver who was assaulted while exiting a bowling alley on Paseo Marítimo in La Coruña, Galicia, Justice has not yet been able to determine whether it is a homophobic crime, inspired by Samuel’s sexual condition, or not.

The video from the traffic cameras of Paseo Marítimo shows how, at dawn on July 3, boys approach Samuel, hit him, he falls, although he manages to get up, and He is again attacked to death, literally.

“Stop recording us if you don’t want me to kill you, queer,” they allegedly told him, believing Samuel was filming them on his cell phone when in reality he was making a video call with his friend Lina. “Grandpa of what?”Samuel would have answered.

This is how Lina and Vanessa say it, the friend who was with him in the early morning hours of the assault, and his partner, the girl with whom they made the video call that claimed Samuel’s life.

He, Lina and two other friends were having a drink at El Anden, a bowling alley near Riazor beach, when Samuel and Lina went out to smoke and to make the video call with Vanessa which triggered the brutal attack.

“In Spain, hate crime does not exist in our penal code. It is an aggravating factor that must be demonstrated. We are surprised that one of the indicators that lead to a hate crime investigation is the subjective perception of the victim. The victim is dead. She was killed. But all witnesses say he was killed shouting ‘grandpa’, “he said. Bugle Arantxa Miranda, head of hate crimes at the National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals of Spain.

“This obliges the security forces and organizations, which have a protocol for hate crimes, that this investigation is already considered a hate crime Miranda clarifies. You have to start off as if it is a hate crime, although the prosecutor’s office may not see it that way at the end of the day. This is what surprised us and what angered the LGTBI collective. “

Why is Spanish justice still do not define it and investigated as a homophobic crime?

“Whether this is a hate crime is being investigated”, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said hours after Samuel’s assassination.

“The National Police are working exhaustively to clarify the facts as quickly as possible and what is their nature “ added the Minister of the Interior.

“For the moment, none of the routes is excluded”, declared the delegate of the government in Galicia, José Manuel Miñones.

“It is neither excluded nor confirmed. There are several lines of research. The police do their job meticulously, ”said deputy government delegate in A Coruña, María Rivas.

However, for the State Federation of Lesbian, Gay, Trans and Bisexuals, the reason is political: “One hypothesis could be that they do not want to show that this political speech of hatred towards the other translates into saying that in Spain you can kill for homophobia“, look for an explanation before consulting Bugle the voice of the Federation in hate crimes.

“Spain has always been one of the most advanced countries in rights for the LGTBI collective and suddenly they kill us, ”adds Arantxa Miranda.

Until now, There are five young people arrested for the death of Samuel Luiz. Three entered prison without the possibility of paying bail and two others were transferred to juvenile centers because they were under the legal age, according to the Order of Instruction No.1 of La Coruña, which was on duty at the time of the arrests. A young woman was also delayed and then released.

The police does not rule out further arrests in the coming days since, according to the investigation, more than six people participated in the fatal blows near the central beach of La Coruña.

Since, several cities in Spain demonstrate and demonstrate For this reason, the main associations which campaign for sexual diversity consider a “LGTBIphobia” and a movement called “Justice for Samuel” circulates on the networks which tries to recruit witnesses of what happened that morning on the Paseo Marítimo de A Coruña.

The autopsy of Samuel’s body lists his ordeal: had a blow to the head of 10 centimeters, facial injuries and marks from being forcefully grabbed by the neck.

“He was affectionate, funny, generous, everything was good”Lina says of her friend, whom she had met five years ago.

Lina and Samuel worked in the same retirement home: “I found a job thanks to him. i owe my life», Adds her friend.

PB