E/CN.4/2000/16 page 16 national, bearer of residence permit No. 1266737-R, born at Kanene (Senegal) and residing at 25 Avenida Fragoso, first floor, right, in Vigo, declared that he had been a victim of ill-treatment by members of the local police on 16 March 1997 at about 5.30 p.m. The officers had checked his identity on the Paseo de Samil in Vigo and then had taken him out of town in a police car to a place which the complainant believed was in the university quarter; there he had been subjected to ill-treatment and insults. Subsequently, at the request of the complainant, the municipal police officers took him to the police station in Vigo, where he arrived on the 16th, but at 7.15 p.m. His arrival was registered under serial number 660, and he left at 7.30 p.m. on the same day. 56. The file was transmitted to investigating magistrate No. 5 in Vigo, who examined the case. The information obtained indicates that the municipal police officers implicated were tried and sentenced by the provincial court in Pontevedra. One was sentenced to 4 years’ imprisonment and l0 years’ full deprival of civil rights and the others to 2 and 3 years’ imprisonment respectively and 8 years of full deprival of civil rights. They were also condemned jointly to pay 100,000 pesetas to the victim as compensation for moral prejudice and a fine of 15,000 pesetas for assault and battery; to four periods of weekend detention; and to payment of costs. An appeal against the sentence has been submitted to the court of cassation. (c) Madrid 57. A former member of the Civil Guard shot and killed a young Moroccan aged 19 (20 June 1997). On 20 June at 4 a.m. Miguel Ángel M.U., a 32-year-old Civil Guard reservist, shot a young Moroccan national, Mourad El Abedine, in the back. The young man, who had arrived in Spain at age 9, was walking with his friends and his girlfriend when they passed in front of a man lying in a corner, apparently drunk. The young man dropped back to tie up his shoelace, and the man shot him in the back with a .32 Astra revolver. A woman living in the neighourhood called the police, who arrived on the spot a few minutes later and arrested the attacker. The young man was beyond help and died. An inquiry was opened to determine why the murderer was armed, since he did not meet the necessary conditions to be in possession of a service weapon for “self-defence”. Initially the hypothesis of a racist crime was not taken up; however, several witnesses have affirmed that Miguel Ángel M. said to the young man: “Hey, you there! Are you an Arab?” and fired when the latter answered affirmatively. Following that incident a number of demonstrations were organized on the initiative of the Moroccan community. Government reply 58. An inquiry (No. 6648/5) into the death of the young Moroccan national Mourad El Abedine on 20 June 1997 was opened on 20 June 1999 and conducted by investigating magistrate No. 39 in Madrid. The provincial court of Madrid, by decision No. 69/99, returned a verdict of murder without circumstances modifying criminal liability. However, it is impossible to affirm that in this case racial or anti-Semite motivations or any other type of discrimination based on ideology, religion, convictions, ethnic origin, race or nationality of the victim were present.

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