The trial for the homophobic attack on Ekain Perrino has been seen for sentencing after the defendants' statement

The trial for the homophobic attack on the young Basauriarra Ekain Perrino has been seen for sentencing this Wednesday. On the third day, the eleven people who are being tried on charges of beating the victim have denied having committed homophobic insults against the victim and assaulted him on the basis of his sexual orientation.

The attack, which began last Monday in the First Section of the Provincial Court of Bizkaia, took place in the vicinity of Bizkotzalde Park in Basauri on 6June 2021. The victim (then a 23-year-old) was punched and kicked in the head, even when he was unconscious.

The defendants have only answered questions from their defense attorneys, who have all denied hating homosexuals and beating them all up, claiming that they respect homosexuals and that "everyone can live their lives as they please."  

One of them, however, has admitted to having fought with Ekain . He has stated that Ekain came up to him "very upset." According to his account, they were celebrating a birthday in a park while several other young men were making bottles. In his words, the victim asked them "badly" to change the music on the speaker, and one of them replied "politely" that they would not.

However, two young peoplewho have been summoned as witnesses have joined Ekain's version. s have reported that the defendants committed a number of homophobic insults and then one of them struck him in the back. When he fell to the ground, they kicked him, and they continued to do so even after he was unconscious. 

The Public Prosecutor's Office considers the facts to be aggravated offences of homophobic hatred injury and requests that eleven of the defendants besentenced to three years' imprisonment, applying a mitigating measure of mental disability to one of them.

The individual prosecution has changed its classification to a crime of injury, a crime of injury in competition with an offence against moral integrity, and a crime of aggravated injury with alevosy. In fact, it considers that it was accidentally attacked without being able to defend itself against a large group. Then , in addition, it raises the claimfor compensation for the victim from €10,500 to €12,000, from which it "has not been able to make normal life" for the psychological injuries it caused.

On the other hand, the defenses have called for the acquittal of their clients on the grounds that they did not commit the attack and have no homophobic feelings. "They belong to a group of minorities discriminated against for centuries and are clearly unable to discriminate," said one of the lawyers. "The source of that fight was a fight in a bottle where they drank alcohol," he said.