Spain/ Catalunya High Court (Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Cataluña)/ Judgment no. 128/24 of 23 April 2024. Criminal Appeal Chamber of the Civil and Criminal Chamber. High Court of Justice of Catalonia. Appeal against Judgment Chamber Roll 216/2023 (S
Country
Spain
Title
Year
Decision/ruling/judgment date
Incident(s) concerned/related
Related Bias motivation
Groups affected
Court/Body type
Court/Body
Key facts of the case
Main reasoning/argumentation
Religion ("anti-Muslim hatred") and nation ("xenophobia") are the bias motivation of the driver's discriminatory acts. The ruling emphasizes that the accused's words were not isolated and decontextualized; rather, they were part of a sequence of events that included repeated displays of contempt and a blatant attempt to physically harm the victim, which had a negative impact on the victim's three young children. The victim and her three children experienced severe humiliation and debasement as a result of the defendant's actions, which must be made up for as moral harm.
Is the case related to the application of the Framework Decision on Racism and Xenophobia, the Racial Equality Directive?
Key issues (concepts, interpretations) clarified by the case
The legal interest protected was the Human dignity as defined in Criminal Code article 510.2 a). The judgment highlighted the defendant's attempt to lift the victim's veil, which he was unable to accomplish due to the victim's response, his children's intervention, and some bystanders' denunciation. It also considered the appellant's position as a public servant, anyone with a rudimentary understanding of the subject knows that the headscarf is an obvious symbol of Muslim culture and that removing it from a woman who is Muslim and obviously of Maghreb descent is an especially offensive act. The attacks targeted national sentiments and the cultural and religious practices of those impacted took place during the exercise.
Results (sanctions, outcome) and key consequences or implications of the case
According to article 510.2 a) of the Criminal Code, it is mandated to pay 1000 euros to each person impacted by the crime. The decision dismissed the appeal against the conviction of February 20, 2023, fully upholding the Third Section of the Barcelona Provincial Court's decision to convict the defendant of violating article 510.2 a) of the Criminal Code, which relates to the exercise of public rights and freedoms. It also upheld the subsequent Order of March 7, which clarified the aforementioned judgment and found the defendant responsible for three minor crimes of injury under article 147.2 of the Criminal Code. A fine of 10 euros per day was imposed on the defendant, along with subsidiary personal liability under article 53 of the Criminal Code.
Key quotation in original language and its unofficial translation into English with reference details
… (la testigo a la que ningún interés se le supone en la causa apostilló con total claridad los tres pilares fácticos del testimonio de la víctima y sobre los que en definitiva se asienta la condena, los insultos de carácter xenófobo o racista, la agresión física y el intento de quitarle el pañuelo que portaba) "the witness who is supposed to have no interest in the case clearly stated the three factual pillars of the victim's testimony and on which the conviction is ultimately based, the insults of a xenophobic or racist nature, the physical aggression and the attempt to take away the headscarf she was wearing"