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A Cuban resident in Barcelona was subjected to systematic racist harassment for over a year by a neighbor who insulted and threatened her while she visited a municipal urban garden.
The assailant has now accepted a sentence of six months in prison, as well as a fine of 2,700 euros and the payment of 3,000 euros in compensation for damages to the victim, after admitting the facts before the Barcelona Court.
According to the Prosecutor's Office, the accused directed racist remarks at the victim at least twice a week from January 2022 to February 2023, with the aim of "humiliating" her because of her skin color and foreign origin.
Among the most frequently hurled insults were phrases like “black woman, go back to your country!”, shouted from the window of her home every time she went to work in the urban garden of which she was a user.
The case, which went to trial in the ninth section of the Barcelona Court, concluded with an agreement between the defense and the Public Prosecutor's Office, as revealed by the Spanish press.
Initially, the Prosecutor’s Office requested two years in prison, a fine of 5,400 euros, and four and a half years of disqualification, but ultimately the defendant accepted a lesser sentence after admitting to the facts.
Repeated racist insults from a residence
The harassment occurred in the Barcelona district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, one of the wealthiest areas of the city.
The accused lived on the first floor, and his window opened directly onto the lot where the community garden frequented by the victim was located.
From there, according to the Prosecutor's written statement, the man repeatedly insulted her while she was working in the fields.
On many occasions, the screams would continue for as long as the woman remained in the place.
Among the insults included in the accusation are expressions such as "shitty black, remove everything you have planted here, put it under the bed" or "go back to your country," directed disparagingly at her due to her Cuban origin and physical characteristics.
The prosecutor of the Hate and Discrimination Crimes Unit, Marta Gloria López Catalá, stated that the accused "humiliated and threatened the woman due to the color of her skin, her morphological characteristics, and her foreign origin," which constituted several offenses related to the violation of fundamental rights.
Threats and an episode of persecution
The harassment was not limited to insults. In November 2022, the man even made explicit threats.
According to the prosecutor's account, in one of the episodes he shouted at him: "Do you want me to take out my gun and shoot you?"
On the same occasion, the aggressor issued further insults and violent expressions such as "I am mad with hatred against you," "you are an animal," or "to me, you are a bitch."
The incident that led to the complaint occurred later, when the accused, after shouting at her again phrases like "I won't stop until you leave here" and "you should die," came down from his house and began to follow her while continuing to yell.
Frightened, the woman took refuge in the Mossos d'Esquadra police station in the district and filed a report that initiated the judicial investigation.
The Prosecutor's Office stated that the constant harassment had psychological consequences for the victim.
The court document states that the woman experienced "reactive anxiety symptoms," for which she received psychosocial support through the intervention of the Office for Non-Discrimination of the Barcelona City Council.
The Public Prosecutor's Office emphasized that the accused's behavior was "systematic and ongoing," and that the way he addressed the victim—"mockingly and disdainfully" due to her background and physical characteristics—along with the public exposure of the insults, "wounded her self-esteem and undermined her dignity."
Additionally, the man will have to serve three years and six months of prohibition from approaching or communicating with the woman, maintaining a minimum distance of 100 meters.
He is also imposed a three and a half year special disqualification from working in educational, sports, or recreational fields.
The accused was convicted of a crime related to fundamental rights and public freedoms, a crime against moral integrity, and a minor offense of threats.
The sentence, accepted by the defendant during the plea hearing, brings an end to the judicial process initiated after the victim's report, who endured racist insults and threats for over a year every time she went to tend to her plot in the urban garden of her neighborhood.
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