Five tourists have been handed suspended prison sentences after admitting to a brutal homophobic attack on a young gay couple returning home from Sevilla’s Feria de Abril.
The assault took place at around 7.30am on April 17, 2024, beneath the arcades of Plaza de Cuba, where the two victims, aged 25 and 22, had stopped while walking home from the festivities.
According to the court, the couple were embracing when the five men began shouting homophobic insults before launching a violent assault.
The attackers admitted shouting comments including: ‘Look at these f**s kissing and hugging’ and ‘When you get home, are you going to f** each other?’
They then punched and kicked the victims repeatedly.
The attack left one victim with a fractured cheekbone beneath the eye, while the other suffered a black eye and a partial loss of smell. A mobile phone was also damaged during the assault.
The case was investigated by specialist hate crime officers from the Policia Nacional in Sevilla and Barcelona, who identified the five suspects despite them living in different towns across the Barcelona area.
The assault had also been filmed by the attackers themselves, with the footage becoming key evidence during the investigation.
On Tuesday, Sevilla’s Provincial Court approved a plea agreement reached between prosecutors, the victims and the defendants.
Each of the five men received two years in prison – one year for a hate crime and one year for causing injuries – along with fines and compensation payments to the victims.
One victim will receive €6,440 in compensation, while the other will receive €5,939, in addition to €100 for the damaged mobile phone.
The defendants were also fined €1,350 each and banned for five years from working in educational, sporting or youth-related roles.
However, none of them will serve time behind bars.
Under the terms of the agreement, the prison sentences have been suspended on condition that they commit no further offences over the next three years, pay all compensation within 18 months and complete a specialist rehabilitation programme in Barcelona focusing on violent behaviour and equality education.
One of the defendants initially refused to accept the plea deal, insisting he had neither been present nor taken part in the attack.
He eventually agreed after the other four defendants accepted responsibility for paying the victims’ compensation, allowing the agreement to proceed.
The five men had originally faced prison sentences of up to six and a half years before prosecutors agreed to reduce the charges as part of the plea bargain.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
