Moroccan Man Forgives Attacker in Alleged Hate Crime on Spanish Island

The facts took place on May 9, when the Moroccan was physically and verbally assaulted by the 46-year-old suspect. "He came out of a bar, chased me, called me a ’fucking Moor’, cornered me against a wall and stabbed me in the elbow in a street near the Civil Guard office... I fled towards the Civil Guard and he was arrested with the knife," explains the young Moroccan who "forgives" the accused and waives any compensation.

The two Civil Guard agents who arrested the accused also testified at this trial. "Two boys alerted us to a fight between two individuals and that one of them was carrying a knife. We quickly went to the scene and separated them. Then we managed to subdue the defendant and found the knife in his pants," the agents said.

In addition to the sentence of one year and eight months in prison, the prosecution is asking the judge of the Palma Criminal Court to issue a three-year restraining order against the accused and set him a compensation of 122 euros to be paid to the victim for the injuries suffered. For the prosecutor, the accused was "solely motivated by his contempt and xenophobia towards the racial origin" of the victim.

The defense lawyer, on the other hand, unsuccessfully requested a postponement of the trial due to the non-appearance of his client and wished that he be acquitted, since the victim has waived any prosecution against the accused who would suffer from alcoholism problems.