Bilal, a young Moroccan living in Spain with a counterfeit Swiss passport, was involved in an incident on a Zaragoza city bus during the Fiestas del Pilar de Zaragoza. He faced a potential prison term of up to six years, but an agreement between the parties reduced the sentence to two years for injury and six months for assault. A compensation payment of 12,345 euros was required to be made to the officer involved. The deal also included a condition, as stated by Bilal’s legal counsel, Claudia Melguizo, regarding the extraordinary postponement of the sentence, which involves the payment of the money and adherence to a requested fine or community service.
In the hearing before the Zaragoza No. 2 High Criminal Court, the agreement was signed by the accused following a meeting with the prosecutor, the agent’s counsel Pilar Sangorrín, Marco Antonio Navarro, and Bilal’s defense representing the popular accusation brought by the Jupol union.
In the account presented at the hearing, the relevant events occurred around 4:30 in the morning on October 17 of the previous year, aboard bus line 32 where the two individuals collided. Police investigations indicate that the officer asked the suspect to wear a mask twice; the response included vulgar phrases such as insult-laden retorts. The inspector then removed his badge and professional license and asked for the mask to be worn a third time. The accused’s reaction grew violent, and he began filming the incident on his cellphone while shouting for onlookers to witness the confrontation.
The confrontation escalated when the suspect abruptly grabbed a railing near the aisle and delivered a forceful kick to the officer’s chest, knocking him backward into seats. Unable to defend himself, the inspector was punched multiple times in the face before the assailant fled the scene. The suspect was later apprehended in Alicante on October 25.
As a result of the assault and the ensuing struggle, the officer sustained a torn meniscus and a fractured malar bone, resulting in facial trauma and a corneal ulcer.