Authorities order the detention of Torremolinos promoter that prohibited gay men from entering a party

Hate crime

The accused did not comply with the obligation to be at the disposal of the courts handling the proceedings

EP

The magistrates court in Torremolinos has ordered the detention of the alleged promoter of a party advertised in January 2025 which banned homosexuals.

The arrest ... warrant was issued after the accused, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, did not comply with the obligation to be at the disposal of the courts handling the proceedings.

Judicial sources said that the National Police have been ordered to arrest the defendant and that steps have been taken to summon him through official notices requiring his appearance before the court in order to carry out procedural actions pending notification and formal service in these proceedings.

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The Malaga public prosecutor's office has already charged this man with a hate crime, after advertising the "rules" of the party stating "no fighting, drugs, flip-flops, or maricones" - a derogatory word used to describe gay men. According to the prosecutor, these “homophobic messages” violated the victim’s dignity on discriminatory grounds related to sexual orientation. The prosecutor is initially seeking a two-year prison sentence.

Judicial sources said it is mandatory for defendants to remain available to the courts handling their cases, an obligation that “has not been fulfilled in this instance”. Consequently, steps have been initiated to locate and arrest the defendant, and warrants have been issued to the National Police, the Guardia Civil and the Local Police, prior to the defendant being declared in contempt of court.

Denounced by the mayor of Torremolinos

The Malaga prosecutor's office for hate crimes and discrimination is also charging this man with a further offence of insulting a public authority in the exercise of its duties, in relation to his remarks about the Mayor of Torremolinos, Margarita del Cid, who reported the incident.

The prosecutor said in his initial conclusions that, through social networks, this party was advertised with an announcement in which as "rules" it was specified: "no fights, drugs, flip-flops or homosexuals". It included a contact number, which, according to the investigations, is the defendant's own. The advertisement disappeared from the account, which remains with 267 followers.

For the prosecution, the terms used by the defendant in the event announcement - “rejecting the widespread acceptance of homosexual people” - together with the comparison of homosexuality to fighting or drug use, amounted to “a serious humiliation that undermined the dignity” of members of the LGBT+ community. This led numerous associations to join the proceedings.

According to the prosecutor, the organiser, a Moroccan national, “was aware” that his message would be uploaded to social media and therefore “had no control over its dissemination from that moment onwards”, since its impact could be “multiplied” through repeated sharing. As a result, “the humiliation suffered by the group of victims of the attacks was exponentially increased, as indeed occurred”.

In addition, the interim statement noted that the mayor, faced with "the clearly discriminatory nature" of the alleged regulations of the party, also published a statement on social networks repudiating the event, rejecting any homophobic behaviour and expressing her intention to do everything possible to ensure that the event or any similar activity would not take place.

This was met with a private message from the accused in which he insulted the mayor and said that the event was going to be moved to Malaga. In the end, the party was not held due to the "firm opposition of Torremolinos town hall and the widespread reaction of public opinion".

The prosecutor added that it is a hate crime in the form of injury to dignity on discriminatory grounds of sexual orientation, another of insult to the authority in the exercise of its functions and a third of attempted denial of services.

For these reasons, in addition to the two-year prison sentence, the court requests that the accused, who is in an irregular administrative situation in Spain, be disqualified from promoting shows for the same period, a fine of 19 months with a daily rate of ten euros, and a special disqualification from industry or commerce and from educational professions or occupations for a period of five years and nine months.