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==Victim== | ==Victim== | ||
Luiz was born in Brazil and moved to Spain at the age of one.<ref>{{cite news |title=Assassinato de jovem gay brasileiro causa comoção na Espanha|trans-title=Murder of young Brazilian gay man causes commotion in Spain|url=https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2021/07/05/assassinato-de-jovem-de-origem-brasileira-causa-comocao-na-espanha.ghtml |access-date=6 July 2021 |publisher=G1 |date=5 July 2021 |language=Portuguese}}</ref> His mother was Spanish, and the family lived in [[Culleredo]] and later [[Arteixo]], both in the vicinity of [[A Coruña]].<ref name=espanol>{{cite news |last1=Rey |first1=Carlos |title=El sueño roto de Samuel Luiz: el joven auxiliar de enfermería que quería ser protésico dental|trans-title=The broken dream of Samuel Luiz: the young nursing assistant who wanted to be a dental prosthetist|url=https://www.elespanol.com/reportajes/20210707/samuel-luiz-auxiliar-enfermeria-queria-protesico-dental/594441744_0.html |access-date=7 July 2021 |work=[[El Español]] |date=7 July 2021 |language=Spanish}}</ref> From the ages of 18 to 20 he studied to be a nursing assistant, and worked as one in a nursing home while studying a further course to be a dental prosthetist.<ref name=espanol/> He played the flute in an [[Evangelical Christian]] congregation | Luiz was born in Brazil and moved to Spain at the age of one.<ref>{{cite news |title=Assassinato de jovem gay brasileiro causa comoção na Espanha|trans-title=Murder of young Brazilian gay man causes commotion in Spain|url=https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2021/07/05/assassinato-de-jovem-de-origem-brasileira-causa-comocao-na-espanha.ghtml |access-date=6 July 2021 |publisher=G1 |date=5 July 2021 |language=Portuguese}}</ref> His mother was Spanish, and the family lived in [[Culleredo]] and later [[Arteixo]], both in the vicinity of [[A Coruña]].<ref name=espanol>{{cite news |last1=Rey |first1=Carlos |title=El sueño roto de Samuel Luiz: el joven auxiliar de enfermería que quería ser protésico dental|trans-title=The broken dream of Samuel Luiz: the young nursing assistant who wanted to be a dental prosthetist|url=https://www.elespanol.com/reportajes/20210707/samuel-luiz-auxiliar-enfermeria-queria-protesico-dental/594441744_0.html |access-date=7 July 2021 |work=[[El Español]] |date=7 July 2021 |language=Spanish}}</ref> From the ages of 18 to 20 he studied to be a nursing assistant, and worked as one in a nursing home while studying a further course to be a dental prosthetist.<ref name=espanol/> He played the flute in an [[Evangelical Christian]] congregation and did not disclose his homosexuality to his father, who was also of that faith.<ref name=espanol/> In a television interview, Luiz's father said that he had only spoken once to his son about the possibility that he was gay, but the young man did not want to continue the conversation.<ref name=espanol/> | ||
==Crime== | ==Crime== | ||
 Demonstration in memory of Samuel Luiz in A Coruña | |
| Date | 3 July 2021 |
|---|---|
| Location | A Coruña, Spain |
Samuel Luiz Muñiz, a 24-year-old nursing assistant, was beaten to death in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain on 3 July 2021. According to several witnesses, the crime was motivated by homophobia.[1] As of July 8, four people have been arrested over his death.[2][3]
Luiz was born in Brazil and moved to Spain at the age of one.[4] His mother was Spanish, and the family lived in Culleredo and later Arteixo, both in the vicinity of A Coruña.[5] From the ages of 18 to 20 he studied to be a nursing assistant, and worked as one in a nursing home while studying a further course to be a dental prosthetist.[5] He played the flute in an Evangelical Christian congregation and did not disclose his homosexuality to his father, who was also of that faith.[5] In a television interview, Luiz's father said that he had only spoken once to his son about the possibility that he was gay, but the young man did not want to continue the conversation.[5]
According to Luiz's female friend who witnessed the crime, they were on a night out and stepped outside to smoke. Luiz was in a video call with another friend, and rotated his phone to show the surroundings to the friend. A male and a female were walking by and believed they were being filmed. According to the witness, the male then walked up to Luiz and said "you will either stop filming, or I'll kill you, faggot"; Luiz only replied "why are you calling me a faggot?" before being beaten.[6][nb 1]Luiz's friend and a separate male managed to break up the fight. He then asked his friend to find his lost mobile phone. While she was away, the attacker returned with 12 others and beat Luiz to death.[6] The beating took place over 15 minutes and 250 metres.[7]
Two witnesses said that the group that killed Luiz was composed of Latin American or mixed-race men, between 20 and 30 years old.[8][9][10][3]
Thirteen people were interviewed over the fatal beating.[11] On 6 July, the police said that while they could not disregard any hypothetical motive, the initial evidence did not point to homophobia.[1][12] According to investigators, the group of strangers would not have known that Luiz was gay. However, one witness explains that he could have been likely picked apart on the grounds of his gender expression, since he appeared to be feminine. [1][13] By the night of that same day, three people – two male and one female – were officially in custody.[14] On 8 July the police confirmed an arrest of a fourth attacker, who allegedly also stole the victim's mobile phone after the attack.[2][3] None of the arrested subjects has previous criminal records.[3]
On 9 July two more suspects were arrested, both underaged, one of them having past criminal records.[15] Three of four suspects arrested previously are ordered to stay in prison during pre-trial, without a release on bail option, while the other one (the woman) was released for the pre-trial period.[15]
Authorities do not disclose suspect identities, beyond stating that all have Spanish nationality, and are residents of A Coruña.[15]
Luiz's death was met by demonstrations in his memory in cities across Spain.[17][18] In Madrid, police employed baton charges to break up demonstrations in the city centre; these actions were condemned by politicians including Mónica García and Pablo Echenique.[19]
The President of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, condemned the crime but said that he would not link it to homophobia until that had been established.[20] The leader of the opposition, Ana Pontón, criticised this declaration.[21] Luiz's father called for people not to politicise the crime.[22][23][24]
Juan Carlos Monedero, a former member of Podemos, wrote on Twitter "Let's see if anyone can explain to me what God Vox and their supporters are praying to when they murder someone because of their hatred of homosexuals. Think about it @AlmeidaPP_ (José Luis Martínez-Almeida, mayor of Madrid), if you had put up the LGBTI flag on the city hall, the murder of Samuel would have been a bit more difficult". Vox announced that they would sue him for defamation,[16] and Almeida condemned the insinuation against himself.[25] Vox also announced plans to sue the political pundit Martu Garrote for having written "You spend all your life raising a son, ensuring his dream and, when you are happy because he is a nursing assistant, because he is a good person, because the worst has already happened, a pack of hyenas come and kill him because he doesn't live and love according to dogma. That is Vox, that is the far right".[16]
The news and especially the protests made international headlines in Europe and America[17][26][27][28][29][30] and many international artists such as Sam Smith, Beyoncé, Ricky Martin and Lena Headey shared the news on their social media.[31][32][33][34]