Four men have been sentenced to a total of 74 years in prison for a homophobic murder that shocked Spain nearly four years ago and sparked nationwide protests.
Samuel Ruiz, a 24-year-old nursing assistant, was out with friends in the Galician city of A Coruña in the early hours of Saturday, July 3, 2021, when an argument broke out outside a nightclub.
Lewis' friends said he left the club to make a video call and was accosted by two passersby for trying to record the footage with their cellphones. Lewis said in the video that he was talking to a friend when he was attacked by a passerby and left with severe bruises on his face.
Five minutes later, the assailant returned with others and kicked and punched Lewis until he lost consciousness. He was taken to the hospital, where he died the same morning.
Last November, after a trial in La Coruña, a jury convicted the four men of Ruiz's murder.
On Wednesday, a city court sentenced three of the convicted men, Diego Montaña, Alejandro Freire and Caio Amaral, to 24 years in prison and 20 years in prison for their roles in the murders. , was sentenced to 20 years and 6 months in prison. A fourth man, Alejandro Miguez, who did not hit Luis, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being an accessory to murder.
In her sentencing, Presiding Judge Elena Fernanda Pastor Novo acknowledged the gravity of the crime and the infliction it caused Ruiz's family, who had experienced “grave emotional suffering that goes beyond the pain inherent in the loss of a son and brother.” pointed out the pain. .
The judge added that Montagna had shown an “absolute lack of empathy and cruelty that merited a harsher punishment.” She also took into account the attackers' actions in the immediate aftermath of the attack and the fact that Mr Lewis was “left unconscious in the middle of the roundabout with his face covered in blood”.
The judge referenced the fact that Montagna had threatened Lewis using homophobic language, saying: “Stop filming or I'll kill you, faggot.” Montaña's hostility towards Luis because of his sexual orientation “provoked a completely aggressive reaction against Samuel…” [who was] They mainly jumped on me, kicked me, and punched me in the head and face. ''An autopsy revealed more than 30 separate wounds.
The verdict, which may be appealed to the Galician High Court, ordered the killers to pay Ruiz's family €303,000 (£253,000) in compensation.
The attack sparked a backlash across Spain, with demonstrations occurring in the following week in cities including A Coruña, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Salamanca, Bilbao and Zaragoza. Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as “Your homophobia is killing us.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the killing and expressed his condolences to Ruiz's friends and family. “It was a barbaric and callous act,” he said. “We will not take a step back in terms of rights and freedoms and Spain will not tolerate this.”
