Judge Releases Moroccan Youth Accused of Arson
The judge has released the Moroccan youth detained for allegedly assaulting a minor after the victim claimed the fire was accidental, in line with police reports.
Incident Overview
In the early hours of July 16, a 20-year-old Moroccan man was arrested in Gran Canaria as the suspected perpetrator of a serious assault against a minor following a fire at an informal dwelling in La Isleta. Just over 24 hours later, coinciding with migrant pursuits in Torre Pacheco (Murcia), the far-right party Vox seized the opportunity to stir xenophobia on the island and organised a demonstration against immigration outside a reception centre in the island’s capital. “From Vox, we are very clear. We will stand with the Spaniards. We will defend their security to the last consequence,” stated Alberto Rodríguez, the party’s candidate for the Congress of Deputies from Las Palmas. This Tuesday, the judge provisionally released the young man after the victim declared that the fire was accidental and that he attempted to help her.
The Victim’s Condition
The teenager, under the care of the Government of the Canary Islands, was transported to the Burn Unit in Seville via a medical flight, with over 50% of her body affected by burns from the fire. Initially, police sources informed the media that the minor had reported that the young man had assaulted her, and this was one of the hypotheses under investigation. A ruling from the judge highlighted this contradiction as something that needed resolution, concluding that the victim’s statement “strengthens the thesis” maintained from the outset by the National Police’s Homicide Group, referring to medical reports that “relativise” the hypothesis that the victim was doused with flammable liquid. The ruling also indicated that the victim was trapped in the room despite the accused’s attempts to provide help.
Judicial Findings
“The victim herself has explicitly denied such an assertion, thereby solidifying the initial police theory that we are dealing with an accidental fire in which the victim was trapped in the room, despite the accused’s attempts to assist,” the ruling authored by Judge Tomás Martín stated. Nonetheless, the investigation remains open to ascertain whether the accused acted recklessly in initiating the fire.
Political Reactions and Controversy
According to this newspaper, the court’s decision angered far-right MEP Jorge Buxadé, who happened to be in the Canary Islands during a visit from a delegation of MEPs to assess the impact of migration on the islands. Delegation sources assert that Buxadé was at that time in a meeting with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Civil Guard, where he attempted to link crime with immigration, even being reprimanded by a representative of the Popular Party. These sources describe the agitation instigated by Vox’s leader as facing “calm institutions and social entities working effectively on the ground and in interesting integration projects.”
From the outset and during the investigation of the incident, agitators and far-right parties, denying gender-based violence, have sought to correlate immigration with this blight and crime. Influencer Rudy Ruymán, reported multiple times for hate crimes against migrants, called for another protest against immigration in La Isleta. “A young Canary Islander, a minor and under care, has been burned alive in La Isleta. One aggressor: a 20-year-old Moroccan who recently arrived by boat, living in an occupied flat,” he posted on social media.
Vox leader Santiago Abascal also took the opportunity to point the finger at Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as responsible for the machismo violence that women face in Spain and to deliver a racist tirade against the accused, now free. “Sánchez has not had a single word for women victims of rapes in recent weeks. Not even for the girl burned alive by a savage who arrived here recently by boat. He is the principal architect of this horror that recurs in all the streets of Spain,” he stated on his Facebook account on July 28.
The Media’s Role
Meanwhile, some media outlets highlighted that the young man had arrived in Lanzarote just a few months prior by boat. “It was very telling how certain media approached the issue, disregarding all established guidelines and insisting on naming the cultural background of a person when reporting a crime. By mentioning the cultural origin, you are naming an entire community,” explains researcher José Manuel Álamo. “There was very little information, and multiple judgments were made. There was a significant interest in criminalising the entire community, particularly the group of young Moroccan migrants without family support, which faces immense pressure,” he adds.
This sentiment is echoed by researcher and journalism professor at the University of La Laguna, Rodrigo Fidel. “The narrative is constructed with all the ingredients intended to provoke rage and indignation in the reader. It’s an immigrant, assaulting a girl who is ‘one of us,’ occurring in an informal dwelling…” he illustrates. He also criticises the media for stating that the young man had an expulsion order, despite this document being issued to all individuals arriving irregularly in Spain, as if he were “almost on the run.”
“This far-right discourse is ‘algorithm + hate.’ That’s the combination. The chemical principles that are fuelling this fire,” he asserts. Once misinformation spreads, it is “difficult” to contain. “The retraction will always come after the fact. That’s the harsh reality. The one who strikes first, strikes twice,” says Fidel.
Álamo recalls that “the linkage of what was happening here to events in Torre Pacheco was politically exploited.” “An attempt was made, with no success, to create a sense of danger that isn’t real,” adds the expert in cultural diversity and coexistence. In this context, he emphasises the importance of administrations focusing on the positive elements of migration locally: “We need professionals working in the streets to handle the complexities of migration positively, participatively, and to find common ground and shared experiences.”
Feminist Platforms and Responses
Feminist platforms raised alarms from the outset regarding the racism propagated by Vox and other far-right associations with their rhetoric. Initially, the case was being investigated under suspicions of gender-based violence. The Feminist Network of Gran Canaria released a statement distancing itself from the demonstration that took place in La Isleta. “Gender violence cannot be used as an excuse to incite racism,” stated the network, while warning against the “instrumental and xenophobic use of a case of extreme severity.”
The network noted in that statement that in 2023 less than 25% of those convicted of gender violence were foreigners, while “the remaining 75% were Spanish.” “Using a horrific case to foster xenophobia is dishonest and dangerous. The only commonality among aggressors is that they are men. That should be the focus,” they pointed out.
The feminist group argues that “those hiding behind anonymity do not seek justice but rather to sow hatred,” and warns that “the poster calling for the demonstration does not mention any responsible organisation,” which raises suspicions.
Nereida Vizuete, spokesperson for the Feminist Network of Gran Canaria, tells this newspaper that “there is no linkage between nationality and machismo.” “The only aspect that aggressors of gender violence share is that they are men,” she adds.
Vizuete insists that the association being made is self-serving, emphasising that machismo exists across all social classes, ages, and ethnicities. When Vox and other groups encouraged the demonstration in La Isleta this summer, they reproached the Feminist Network for not joining, but the spokesperson reminds them that they condemn all assaults throughout the year. “We have condemned the 113 victims of gender violence who have been murdered in the Canary Islands, over 1,300 in the State, but we do so irrespective of the aggressor’s identity,” she maintains.
“If someone is more concerned about the aggressor’s country of origin than the existence of gender violence, they have a serious problem. That’s what we said when this demonstration was called,” emphasises Vizuete, clarifying that the Network calls for action when “investigations are complete and victims have been officially declared victims of gender violence, precisely for these reasons, as we cannot make public comments based on headlines nor be swayed by interests that are clearly racist and xenophobic.” “In fact, the far-right’s sole intention was to polarise the atmosphere further,” she asserts.
“We must denounce all instances of gender violence and do so at all times. We cannot treat as special, or as if it were common that someone of any nationality commits an act of gender violence when, in reality, that is not the primary reason,” she insists.
In fact, this year, 59.3% of gender-related murders have been committed by Spanish men. Last year, the figure was 63.8% of nationals, and in 2021, for example, it stood at 77.6%. Furthermore, according to data from the General Council of the Judiciary, the profile of male aggressors, in general, corresponds to an older man than the victim in 70.8% of cases and of Spanish nationality in 64.6% of cases.
The Tenerife Forum Against Gender Violence also denounced the instrumentalisation of this case and stated that these far-right groups seek to divert attention from the real problem, “patriarchy and its violence against women,” as “gender violence does not have a nationality; it has patriarchal roots.”
According to the Forum, “gender violence is a structural manifestation of inequality that transcends all cultures, social classes, and territories; using a case of gender violence to promote xenophobic hatred and racism is not only profoundly racist but also irresponsible and dangerous.”
