It made the announcement this Friday in a statement, stressing that “several” media outlets had broadcast images of the events “where insults and expressions targeting people because of their religion and origin—specifically the Muslim population—can be seen”.
The association said it had “been able to verify” that “some” of these messages were “later reproduced and amplified through profiles on different social media networks”. Among the chants heard at the rallies, it highlighted expressions such as “Jump, jump, jump, whoever doesn’t jump is Muslim”, “Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch. Jump, jump, jump, whoever doesn’t jump is Muslim” and “Hey, hey, whoever doesn’t jump is Muslim. Hey, hey”.
Facua has located and submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office several videos of the rallies held in Madrid, Jaén and Barcelona. It considers it “especially relevant” that “virtually identical” chants were repeated in different cities, “kilometres apart and during events held on the same day”. It also stressed that flags and banners featuring Nazi, fascist and Francoist symbols could be seen at some of these rallies.
Facua believes that these racist and Islamophobic chants could constitute hate crimes and is calling for an investigation into the possible responsibility of those who may have committed them, as well as that of their “potential perpetrators, necessary accomplices and instigators”.
In this context, it considers that the facts provide “sufficient indications” for the Prosecutor’s Office to open the relevant investigations and determine who may have participated in the commission of these possible crimes. It therefore asks it to investigate the events to confirm whether possible criminal offences were committed and identify those responsible.
