- A young man admits that he tried to kill a student in a Torrevieja high school saying that “he would not do it again”
A 19-year-old Pakistani boy who has lived in Spain since his birth was sentenced to five years in prison for stabbing a classmate in a Torrevieja high school for blaspheming the Islamic religion and insulting the prophet Muhammad.
The president of the court, based in Elche, issued the conviction “in voce” after the young man pleaded guilty, having reached an agreement between the Prosecutor’s Office and the defense lawyer Francisco Miguel Galiana Botella.
The prosecutor initially asked for an eight-year prison sentence for a crime of attempted murder, while the private prosecution demanded a 12-year sentence, stating that the punishment should be increased accordingly because the crime was “racist.” However, after discussion this aggravation was withdrawn and the sentence request was reduced to 5 years.
See also: Torrevieja choolboy stabbed by classmate
The oral hearing lasted only a few minutes and concluded with a brief statement of repentance from the accused, who said that “he would not do it again.” In addition to the five years in prison, the young man must compensate the victim with 11,000 euros for his injuries and for nine years he will not be able to approach within 300 metres of the stabbed young man nor communicate with him.
Assault in class
The assault took place at around eight thirty in the morning of October 29, 2019 at the Torrevigía institute number 5 in Torrevieja. The defendant, who was then 18 years old, got up from his chair and approached a 17-year-old classmate from behind, threatening to kill him “for blasphemy” against the Islamic religion. He attacked him with a 27-centimeter blade and 13-centimeter-long ham knife that he had stored in his backpack and had brought into school from his home.
The student who was attacked received a first stab wound in his right side without being able to defend himself and then another from the back at the level of the heart.
The defendant could not stab his classmate anymore because the blade was bent, but he did start hitting him with the knife in the face. Other students managed to pull the attacker off the victim.
The aggressor was detained at the institute while his classmate was hospitalised for stab wounds, one of which affected his lung.
The defendant has been in prison since October 31, 2019 and will remain there until completing his five years sentence.
The aggressor said that he had been receiving ridicule and insults from other students for two years, some about Muhammad, and that he was “fed up ». For his part, the attacked minor denied the insults and said that the accused was “very radical” when they held discussions on religious issues.
