The Valencia Court corrects the judge who did not consider the phrase a hate crime: "I'm going to make you straight to hell"
The attack suffered by a bisexual man in Valencia when he was riding a motorcycle shouting "I'm going to make you straight to hell" will ultimately be investigated as a possible hate crime. This has been decreed by the Provincial Court of Valencia, which has upheld the appeal filed by the prosecution and the Prosecution against the court order that closed this possibility. The magistrate refused to investigate the facts as such with arguments such as that the rainbow flag bracelet is worn every time "more supporters” or that the homophobic insults uttered are heard “repeatedly in heated arguments".
The Audiencia de Valencia now considers that "cannot be ruled out” hate crime, contained in article 510 of the Penal Code, and that the facts may exceed the crime of minor threats for which the judge, Nieves Molina, decided to pursue the case, stipulates in a car dated April 6. “It would be expressive of the spirit of the crime of article 510.2 the fact that the expressions allegedly made have a clear homophobic content and could be apt to harm the dignity of the complainant”, he prays.
Insults that are heard «in heated discussions«
The events date back to last February, when Isaac Pebble He was riding his motorcycle through Valencia. According to his account, he was "approached” by two men in a parallel car and, “approaching a few centimeters” and seeing them make a fuss, look at him and move their lips, they came to a red light. At that point, they rolled down the window and made the insults.
Pebble reproached them "his attempt to overwhelm him” and, when asked why, they replied “for fucking fag. We have seen your cocksucker face from the car”. Threatening to call the police, they blurted out: “If you call, we'll make you fucking straight. I kill you”. During the episode, they uttered “dozens of insults"And"lurked” to the motorcycle “approaching a few centimeters”, he denounces. Seeing that he was trying to take a photo, one of them got out of the vehicle and tried to take his cell phone, always according to his account.
What the Justice has decreed now it is not that the facts are a hate crime, but that they can be and should be investigated as such. If the homophobic expressions used against Isaac were due to his sexual orientation or “without further ado, to a traffic discussion”, assures the Audiencia de Valencia, it will be something that will have to be resolved later. “We do not affirm, far from it, that the person under investigation is criminally responsible for the facts or that this [hate crime] is the final qualification", but "cannot be ruled out".
rainbow bracelet
The magistrate closed the door to the hate crime, using arguments such as that they did not know the victim, so "his activism in the LGTBI cause is totally foreign” to the facts, the rainbow bracelet on the wrist, a symbol of the LGTBI collective, does not indicate the sexual orientation of the wearer because there are more and more “sympathizers" of the movement and painted nails”they get closer” to persons named “alternatives".
Regarding the insults, he assured that “sadly” are heard “repeatedly in heated arguing situations, regardless of the sexual status of the brawl participants".
The Hate Crimes section of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Valencia appealed the decision at the time, arguing that the action "is in itself sufficient to harm the dignity of the injured party” and disparage it for the sake of “sor sexual orientation or identity”. Regarding the insults, the Prosecutor's Office assures that the investigated "had many within his reach and many threats at his disposal derived from the extensive lexicon existing in our language", but that he chose those contained in the car, "It only has one explanation: to despise and humiliate the complainant, using their sexual condition to do so.".
