Spanish authorities detain 12 suspects of homophobic attacks in the north

The National Police in Palencia (a province in the north of Spain) have arrested 12 people in connection with two homophobic attacks that occurred on 13 and 20 September 2025.

Another individual is under investigation but has not been arrested.

"These are two separate incidents. They have the same pattern of behaviour and the same individuals involved," deputy government delegate in Palencia Eduardo Santiago said.

According to Santiago, seven of the suspects were underage at the time of the attacks; two of them are now adults.

"All are Spanish nationals and residents of Palencia. Almost all of them have no criminal or police record," Santiago said. Shared leisure activities link the detainees.

"We are not dealing with a defined ideological structure or a group with a specific and marked political affiliation," Santiago said.

According to the government sub-delegate, this incident prompts "serious reflection on how certain forms of violence, humiliation and dehumanisation can spread among young people and adolescents".

"The suspects themselves claim that they were acting by emulating violent content they had seen on social media. That, of course, doesn't justify anything, but it does compel us to warn about a real risk," Santiago said.

In the first attack, the victim had arranged to meet someone through a dating app. Upon arriving at the meeting point, he encountered a man who led him to a more secluded area, where the rest of the group were waiting.

According to the investigation, they brutally beat, humiliated and abused him for an extended period. The perpetrators even attempted to steal his vehicle and personal belongings.

In the second attack, the procedure was similar. The detainees used the same dating app to arrange a date, lure the victim to a secluded area and then assault him.

In both cases, the injuries the victims suffered were extremely serious.

The suspects are accused of committing crimes of serious bodily harm and degrading treatment motivated by hate, robbery with violence, property damage, vehicle damage and belonging to a criminal group.

"This allows us to understand the true scale of what happened. We are not talking about a fight, we are not talking about an isolated altercation. We are talking about two very serious attacks on victims who had been targeted because of their sexual orientation, with the coordinated actions of several people, with physical violence, with prolonged humiliation and with a homophobic motivation, which, according to investigators, was evident from the beginning," Santiago said.

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