Independent Faces a Must-Win Home Match Against Lepra in Avellaneda

{"rewritten_html":"An Algerian citizen, tried alongside a Moroccan-origin defendant yesterday, faced questions about a confrontation on Levante beach in Benidorm. Allegations centered on robbery and a stabbing that occurred after the victim's cell phone rang. The two defendants denied both charges, while the victim affirmed the accusations, and the Prosecution urged the Court to convict them, seeking a substantial prison sentence for violent robbery and attempted murder, totaling nine years and nine months. [Source: Local court records]nnIn addition, the prosecutor asked for compensation to the victim amounting to 19,480 euros for damages and consequences. The defense teams argued for acquittal on the charge of injury or, at minimum, a conviction that did not include that element. [Source: Local court records]nnThe two men were in pre-trial detention after their dawn arrest on May 21, 2022. They maintained their innocence and, in turn, claimed that the victim had assaulted them earlier. The Algerian defendant, asserting that he did not steal the phone, described the scene as the victim lounging in a hammock on Levante beach and approaching him with an iron bar. He claimed that, after being struck, he attempted to flee and that his companion tried to intervene. According to his account, the victim then escalated the situation and a group of the victim’s associates, employed in portering or hospitality, arrived on a scooter and joined the assault. He further stated that intoxication affected both men and that he himself went to the police to seek help, a claim the officers dismissed as inaccurate at the hearing. [Source: Local court records]nndrug problemsnThe other defendant likewise denied the robbery, arguing instead that the victim and his associate were entangled in a drug-related dispute. He said the two men began arguing and that he stepped in to separate them, noting that his friend started to run but did not attempt to take the phone. When the victim called companions who arrived at the scene with a baseball bat, the accused said they were met with blows in return. He claimed he avoided a head injury with a stick and did not know how the victim had been wounded with a knife. [Source: Local court records]nnThe victim's testimony at trial differed markedly from the defendants' accounts. He described lying in a hammock on Levante beach at dawn, speaking with his mother back in Algeria, and being assaulted after the phone was forcibly removed from his chest while he was on a call. He said he reacted by leaving in a vehicle, which led to a confrontation with the alleged robber. He asserted that the other defendant also stabbed him, and he sustained multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, arm, forehead, and neck. After the stabbing, the attackers fled, and the victim pursued them despite the injuries. [Source: Local court records]nnThe National Police received a call reporting a fight between men in the Rincón de Loix area, and the initial patrol encountered a bloody man in the roadway who requested assistance and pointed out the perpetrators as they attempted to leave. Officers confirmed during the hearing that the two suspects had fled and had largely ignored the stop warnings. Authorities also noted that the blade used in the attack had not been recovered at the scene. A medical examiner later observed that the wounds did not appear to be life-threatening and did not compromise vital organs. [Source: Local court records]nnThe proceedings thus centered on diverging narratives: the defendants' assertion of self-defense and drug-related tensions versus the victim's account of an unprovoked assault and a stolen phone. The court weighed the credibility of testimonies, the timing of events on the Levante beach, and the physical evidence, or lack thereof, to determine accountability for the alleged violent robbery and stabbing. [Source: Local court records]"}