Death of a 24-year-old in Spain: Thousands protest against homophobia

In Spain, thousands of people demonstrated at demonstrations calling for an alleged homophobic act of violence to be investigated. A 24-year-old was attacked, presumably because of his homosexuality. He died later in hospital.

After the violent death of a young man in Spain, thousands of people took to the streets to protest against homophobia. In the capital, Madrid, the demonstrators held up banners reading “Homophobia and fascism are the same” and chanted “Justice for Samuel”.

On the night from Friday to Saturday, the 24-year-old male nurse Samuel was found beaten to death outside a nightclub in La Coruña in northwestern Spain. His relatives suspect a hate crime. Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said there had been no arrests so far. “No traces are excluded – neither hate crimes nor others”.

“Spain will not tolerate this”

Hundreds of people took to the streets not only in Madrid, but also in other cities in the country. 10,000 people gathered in La Coruña, the hometown of the dead man. Sentences like “Samuel did not die, he was murdered!” Were posted on posters by representatives of the LGBTQI movement in Spain.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on Twitter of a cruel and vile act. He trusts the investigators to clear up the case quickly. “Spain will not tolerate this,” wrote Sanchez.

“How kill you because you’re gay”

On the night from Friday to Saturday, the 24-year-old had clashed with strangers on the port promenade of La Coruña. They said Samuel was filming them on his cell phone – but he telephoned a friend on video. There was a fight; the friend said she heard the attackers say over the phone: “We are killing you because you are gay.”

The young man was critically injured and died that night in a hospital in La Coruña. Nobody has been arrested yet. But surveillance cameras on the promenade filmed the brawl – including the seven attackers.