The Court of Instruction number 4 of Cornellà de Llobregat is investigating five local police officers for an alleged racist assault that occurred on 24 October in the leisure area of Famades, on the border with L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. The victim, a young man named Imad, reports xenophobic insults and blows that resulted in the loss of a tooth.
The Court of Instruction number 4 of Cornellà de Llobregat has an ongoing judicial procedure against five local police officers from this Barcelona municipality, investigated for the alleged commission of crimes of injury and obstruction of justice with the aggravating factor of discrimination due to racism. Sources from the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) have confirmed the existence of this case, initiated after a complaint from an individual and currently in the instruction phase.
The events occurred on 24 October in the vicinity of the Mambo nightclub, located in the nightlife area of Famades, an area between the municipalities of Cornellà and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. According to information detailed this Thursday by the human rights defence organisation Irídia, during the presentation of its annual report, the victim, a young man named Imad, was approached by a patrol of four officers to request his identification.
As reported by Irídia's lawyer, Mireia Salazar, the officers held the young man by the arm without giving him time to identify himself, uttering xenophobic insults such as “Shit Moroccan. Aren't you from around here? Go fuck yourself, I'm going to smash your head” and delivering several blows that caused him to immediately lose a tooth.
During the intervention, the assaulted individual managed to record the events using his mobile phone camera to gather evidence. Upon noticing the recording, the officers deleted the video from the device, although the victim was able to recover it later from the deleted files folder. In the audiovisual material, the young man can be heard asking the officers why they are hitting him, an element that the defence lawyer considers crucial to demonstrate both the racist motivation of the incident and a component of 'punishment' for questioning their actions.
Shortly after, two additional officers arrived at the scene and detained the victim's companion to prevent him from also recording the scene, causing him injuries as well. The legal representation of the complainant has also pointed out that the police did not provide medical assistance to the victim despite the severity of his injuries and obstructed the visibility of their badge numbers and the official vehicle's license plate.
After the incident, Imad went to a hospital where he spent fourteen hours in the emergency room, a wait that the prosecution has described as institutional violence. Similarly, the defence reported administrative obstacles when going to the Mossos d'Esquadra police station in Plaza de España in Barcelona to file the complaint, where he was referred to the police station of the same police force in Cornellà.
During the proceedings, the legal representation of the officers attempted to request information about the victim's personal and administrative situation in order to challenge his account, a point that the investigating judge dismissed for violating his right to privacy.
The case is currently in the instruction phase awaiting the final forensic reports and the completion of necessary proceedings before determining whether to agree to the opening of an oral trial. The case has been taken on by the Court of Instruction number 4 of Cornellà de Llobregat, which must decide whether the evidence is sufficient to put the five investigated officers on trial.
From Irídia, lawyer Mireia Salazar has emphasised the importance of ensuring that such actions do not go unpunished and has called for a thorough investigation to clarify what happened. The human rights organisation has highlighted the case as an example of the violations they report in their annual report, which documents various situations of police abuse with racist connotations in Catalonia.
The Famades leisure area, on the border between Cornellà and L'Hospitalet, is a common gathering point for young people during weekends, and police presence is frequent. This incident has raised alarm among residents of both municipalities, who are calling for more oversight and transparency in the actions of security forces.
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