Spanish Court Convicts Man for Hate-Related Attack on Hijab-Wearing Woman

Spanish Court Convicts Man for Hate-Related Attack on Hijab-Wearing Woman
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A regional court in Madrid, Spain has convicted a man of insulting and physically attacking a Muslim woman wearing a hijab in public, sentencing him to a six-month prison term on hate crime and assault charges, according to reports by IQNA and KhabarPu, which cite España en Árabe.

The judgment stems from an incident in which the defendant verbally abused the woman because of her hijab and then physically attacked her in the street. The court found his behavior motivated by religious prejudice and imposed a six-month prison sentence, which was suspended under Spanish law because the term was less than two years and the defendant lacked a prior criminal record.

In addition to the suspended sentence, the court barred the man from working for six years in sectors involving education, teaching, sports, or entertainment, and ordered him to pay financial compensation to the victim for moral and physical harm.

Spanish hate crime legislation prohibits actions motivated by bias against religion or other protected characteristics. The sentence reflects efforts by judicial authorities to deter discriminatory attacks and to uphold protections for religious freedom and public safety.

Civil rights advocates welcomed the decision as consistent with Spain’s legal framework against hate-motivated violence, noting that earlier court rulings have also addressed bias attacks against religious minorities.