A Year of Racial Abuse Against a Cuban Woman in Barcelona Concludes with Conviction: Details of the Harassment She Endured

For over a year, a Cuban woman living in Barcelona was subjected to relentless racial harassment by a neighbor who insulted and threatened her during her visits to a municipal urban garden.

The perpetrator has now accepted a sentence of six months in prison, along with a fine of 2,700 euros and compensation of 3,000 euros to the victim for damages, after admitting the offenses before the Barcelona court.

The prosecutor's office reported that the accused targeted the victim with racial slurs at least twice weekly from January 2022 to February 2023, aiming to "humiliate" her because of her skin color and foreign origin.

Frequently repeated insults included shouts of "black, go back to your country!" yelled from his apartment window each time the woman attended to her plot in the urban garden she used.

The case, which was brought to trial in the ninth section of the Barcelona court, concluded with an agreement between the defense and the public prosecutor, as reported by the Spanish media.

Initially, the prosecution sought two years of imprisonment, a 5,400-euro fine, and four and a half years of disqualification, but eventually, the accused accepted a lesser sentence after acknowledging his actions.

Racial Abuse from an Apartment Window

This harassment took place in Barcelona's affluent Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district. The accused lived on the first floor, with his window overlooking the lot where the victim tended her urban garden.

According to the prosecution's document, he persistently insulted her while she cultivated her plants. Often, the yelling continued for the entire duration of her visit.

The insults, as detailed in the charges, included derogatory remarks like "black piece of shit, remove everything you've planted here, put it under your bed" and "go back to your country," aimed disdainfully due to her Cuban heritage and physical characteristics.

Marta Gloria López Catalá, the prosecutor for Hate Crimes and Discrimination, argued that the accused "humiliated and threatened the woman because of her skin color, morphological features, and foreign background," constituting multiple crimes related to the violation of fundamental rights.

Threats and a Pursuit Incident

The abuse extended beyond insults. In November 2022, the man issued explicit threats. According to the prosecutor's account, in one incident, he yelled, "Do you want me to pull out a gun and shoot you?"

During the same episode, he hurled additional insults and violent expressions such as "I'm crazy with hatred for you," "you're an animal," and "to me, you're a bitch."

The incident that prompted the complaint occurred later when the accused, after shouting phrases like "I won't stop until you leave here" and "you should die," descended from his apartment and began to follow her while continuing to shout.

Frightened, the woman sought refuge at the local police station and filed a complaint, initiating the judicial investigation.

The prosecutor noted that the persistent harassment had psychological effects on the victim. The judicial document states she experienced "reactive anxiety symptoms," for which she received psychosocial support from the Barcelona City Council's Non-Discrimination Office.

The public prosecutor emphasized that the accused's behavior was "systematic and continuous," and the manner in which he addressed the victim—"tauntingly and disdainfully" because of her origin and physical traits—along with the public exposure of the insults, "wounded her self-esteem and undermined her dignity."

Additionally, the man is prohibited from approaching or communicating with the woman for three years and six months, maintaining a minimum distance of 100 meters. He is also banned from working in educational, sports, or leisure fields for the same duration.

The accused was convicted of a crime relating to fundamental rights and public freedoms, a crime against moral integrity, and a minor offense of threats. The conviction, accepted by the accused during the plea agreement, concludes the legal proceedings initiated after the victim's complaint, who endured racial slurs and threats for more than a year while tending to her urban garden plot.