Two women connected to an alleged racist incident were charged by a police officer after initial investigations. The event, reportedly involving a Venezuelan citizen traveling in a car described as first-come, first-served, occurred in Rojales. They were released this Monday following a appearance before the Civil Guard and are under investigation for a minor-injury offense. The lawyers representing the two women, including Jose Luis Sanchez Calvo, announced that their clients, who invoked the right not to testify, have been referred to the prosecutor’s office. The Civil Guard noted injuries to the Venezuelan complainant and asserted that the confrontation began when the other party produced a cellphone to record them at the moment of the incident.
The Civil Guard initially did not file hate-crime charges against the two women. The first open-dossier document concerns a minor-injury charge. The Armed Institute follows a protocol that defers the determination of the exact legal nature of the case to the prosecutor, while noting signs that point to an injury crime with indicators that could signal a hate crime. Besides these proceedings, separate processes are also triggered by traffic-related incidents.
One of the two women who filed a police report in Elche contributed to the injuries described.
As reported, Adriana Gonzalez, a Venezuelan-born resident of Spain for over eight years, publicly condemned the physical and verbal assault she says she endured after colliding with two drivers traveling in the opposite direction on a road in Rojales. She also referenced the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
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She described that the confrontation began with both physical and verbal hostility directed at her and her partner Adrián, according to her account.
In a video shared by an Instagram user, the scene shows one of the women allegedly assaulting Gonzalez. The message included a claim that the police might arrive, the assailant would face a traffic offense, and yet the taunts continued with derogatory remarks about Gonzalez being a local woman and a target of xenophobic abuse in Spain.
The Venezuelan complainant posted multiple updates on social media showing injuries she attributes to alleged xenophobic aggression. She described cervical spine issues, bites, a swelling at the back of the head, and an ankle sprain as part of the injuries sustained during the incident.