Neo-Nazi faces 3 years jail over Metro attack
Prosecutors are pushing for a three-year prison term for a man who was filmed attacking a young Spaniard born in Mongolia on Barcelona's underground railway system in June 2014.
The brutal attack received widespread media coverage after a video of the incident posted on YouTube went viral.
That video shows a blond man standing over a young Asian man on a Barcelona metro train. The aggressor, whose face is pixellated, can be seen leaning towards his victim. He then throws several punches before shocked bystanders drag him away.
The video, which has been seen over a million times was first posted on a Twitter account — now taken down — containing Nazi imagery and the slogan "Always a patriot, white Europe".
The owner of that account tweeted he had not carried out the attack, but had merely filmed it with his mobile phone. "The Chinese guy insulted us and the Russian (attacker) made him shut up," the Twitter user wrote.
A social media campaign followed with people calling for the attacker to be identified and arrested. Police then went on to use the video on YouTube as an aid in their hunt for the man.
Prosecutors in Catalonia have now accused the alleged attacker of hate crimes, and want him behind bars for three years. They are also pushing for a restraining order which would see the man not able to come within a kilometre of the victim for three years.
Those prosecutors also want the attacker to pay his victim €9,000 ($10,700) for psychological damages caused, according to Spanish daily El País.
The accused used Nazi symbols on social media networks and promoted violence against "Jews, gypsies, communists, homosexuals, immigrants and people of African descent" while promoting the superiority of the "Aryan race", prosecutors said.
The trial is expected to take place in the coming months.
Comments
See Also
The brutal attack received widespread media coverage after a video of the incident posted on YouTube went viral.
That video shows a blond man standing over a young Asian man on a Barcelona metro train. The aggressor, whose face is pixellated, can be seen leaning towards his victim. He then throws several punches before shocked bystanders drag him away.
The video, which has been seen over a million times was first posted on a Twitter account — now taken down — containing Nazi imagery and the slogan "Always a patriot, white Europe".
The owner of that account tweeted he had not carried out the attack, but had merely filmed it with his mobile phone. "The Chinese guy insulted us and the Russian (attacker) made him shut up," the Twitter user wrote.
A social media campaign followed with people calling for the attacker to be identified and arrested. Police then went on to use the video on YouTube as an aid in their hunt for the man.
Prosecutors in Catalonia have now accused the alleged attacker of hate crimes, and want him behind bars for three years. They are also pushing for a restraining order which would see the man not able to come within a kilometre of the victim for three years.
Those prosecutors also want the attacker to pay his victim €9,000 ($10,700) for psychological damages caused, according to Spanish daily El País.
The accused used Nazi symbols on social media networks and promoted violence against "Jews, gypsies, communists, homosexuals, immigrants and people of African descent" while promoting the superiority of the "Aryan race", prosecutors said.
The trial is expected to take place in the coming months.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.