Latin America angry over "racist" attack in Spain (Roundup)

Oct 25, 2007, 17:21 GMT

Barcelona - A Spanish judge Thursday questioned a young man accused of a racist attack which has sparked protests from governments in Latin America.

The Barcelona judge also interviewed the man's victim, a 17-year- old Ecuadorian girl, and a witness of the attack.

The judge was then to decide whether to order preventative prison for Sergi Martin, 21, as has been requested by the Ecuadorian government.

Martin suddenly attacked the girl on a Barcelona train on October 7. Security cameras recorded images of Martin kicking the girl in the face, hitting her and touching her breast.

The girl said he shouted racist insults. The only other passenger who was present did not intervene.

The judge in charge of the case granted Martin conditional freedom, but the case sparked an international scandal which prompted prosecutors to consider requesting jail for Martin.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa called the girl and sent Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa to Barcelona to arrange her legal defence. The country's parliament has approved a resolution condemning the attack.

Deputy Foreign Minister Rafael Paredes protested to the Spanish embassy over the release of the attacker.

Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez pledged to raise the issue with the Spanish authorities during his upcoming visit to Spain, and the Peruvian government proposed a Latin American protest over the incident, according to Spanish news reports.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos apologized for the attack. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero also condemned it, as did the Catalan regional parliament on Thursday.

The General Council of Judicial Power (CGPJ), Spain's highest judges' organ, pledged to investigate whether the judge in charge acted correctly when releasing Martin.

People who knew Martin described him as a violent and immature person with no clear racist or far-right ideology. The young man had a serious psychiatric disorder, according to a psychiatrist who had treated him.

Martin claimed to have been drunk when attacking the girl, who said she had suffered from headaches and chest pains since that day.

Catalan regional Justice Minister Montserrat Tura said television images of the attack had sparked a wave of solidarity for the victim, but that all racist attacks should be treated in the same way independently of the media attention they received.

Other experts criticized the mediatization of the case, saying the media had made Martin see himself as a hero, and warned that others could imitate him.