A 27-year-old man has died after being brutally attacked on a beach in Alicante after allegedly trying to flirt with another man.

The victim, named as Miguel, suffered serious injuries during an altercation at Playa de San Juan on August 14 and later died in hospital.

Local LGTBI association Alicante Entiende claims the violence erupted after Miguel made an advance towards another man, aged 22, and is demanding that a possible homophobic motive be investigated.

The group described what happened as a ‘brutal response to an affectionate approach between two men’ and has called for any homophobic element to be considered as an aggravating factor in the case.

‘Faced with events like these, we are deeply concerned that the possible homophobic motivation is not recognised as such and that the victim’s sexual orientation and the circumstances of the attack do not receive the consideration they deserve,’ Alicante Entiende said.

The organisation has demanded that the ‘true motivations’ behind Miguel’s death be established and that potential hate crimes based on sexual orientation are properly investigated and prosecuted.

‘From LGTBI groups, we demand that hate crimes based on sexual orientation are investigated and tried with all guarantees, that the true motivations of the crime are clarified and that homophobia is neither made invisible nor normalised,’ it added.

Jose Ramón Samper, coordinator of Alicante Entiende, told El Español that the organisation believes the initial cause of the confrontation was Miguel attempting to flirt with the other man.

‘What we want to emphasise is that the initial reason for the aggression or the fight between the two young men was because one of them tried to flirt with the other,’ he said.

‘Obviously, if someone tries to flirt with you, that is no reason to beat them up, logically, and much less to the point of what has happened.

‘Although we understand that (the death) was unintentional, the fight was intense.’

Samper insisted that rejecting an unwanted advance should never result in violence.

‘If you don’t want someone to flirt with you, you simply say, ‘Look, no, I’m sorry’, but that is never a reason to attack another person,’ he said.

‘This homophobic component is present and what we want is for it to be taken into account and considered an aggravating factor when assessing or trying the case.’

Alicante Entiende initially described Miguel’s death on social media as a murder and condemned what it called ‘homophobia, violence and hate crimes’.

‘Miguel should be here,’ the group wrote. ‘He should be able to flirt, love, live and enjoy his youth without fear.’

It added: ‘For Miguel. For all victims. For a world without hate. For love.’

The association is now organising a demonstration outside the courts in Benalua, Alicante, in memory of Miguel and to denounce violence against members of the LGBT community.