Youths arrested for brutal homophobic attack
THE NATIONAL Police have arrested 13 people for a violent homophobic attack on a man in a park in Alicante city.
According to a spokesman for the force, the 43-year-old victim was with two friends in a wooded area of the Parque Monte Tossal in February, when they were surrounded by at least 15 people who insulted and threatened them.
Two of the men managed to flee but the third was caught and severely punched and kicked in his face and all over his body, and even beaten with a plank of wood.
The assailants tried to steal his phone and other belongings but gave up as he was still resisting so much, said the spokesman.
The victim suffered a broken nose, elbow and femur, for which he required emergency surgery twice and has a third operation coming up.
He was hardly able to describe anything about his attackers but a single security camera from the area showed part of the chase, which enabled officers to identify one of the suspects and this led them to all the others.
Following their investigation,
officers have now arrested nine minors and four adults aged between 14 and 19, who are all Spanish or Colombian, and are still looking for three other adults who have also been identified.
Regional vice-president Mónica Oltra said the attack was not representative of young Valencians, ‘81% of whom are in favour of freedom of sexual identity and orientation’. She claimed that violence is a symptom of the intolerance being generated by the current political climate.