Uproar in Spain over videos of ‘Brexit-related attacks’ in UK Two videos of Spaniards being violently assaulted in separate incidents in the UK have gone viral in Spain, amid speculation the attacks could be linked to Brexit.
The first video, from May, shows a British man hitting 27-year-old Tomás Gil, from Valencia, in the face with a wooden plank after shouting at him to “speak English”. It was released this month after the assailant was convicted of assault and bodily harm.
The guilty verdict coincided with a second incident, in which a man was filmed punching 31-year-old Bangladeshi, Jubair Ahmed, in the face as he travelled through east London with his Spanish wife Kilian.
Ms Ahmed is shown chasing down the attacker, who got off the train at Upton Park, and berating him in Spanish.
Daniel Way, 37, was convicted of the first attack, which happened in Bournemouth on 19 May, after CCTV footage of the incident was shown in court.
Way was given a 12-month suspended sentence, in addition to 150 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay Mr Gil £800 in compensation.
Mr Gil told Spanish newspaper El País he had been living in Britain for four years when the attack occurred, but had never previously experienced prejudice.
He said he had been in a pub with a group of friends before he walked outside with a woman, called Silvia, at about 5am.
He told El País that Way “came at us from the other side, screaming ‘you f***ing Spanish, speak English’, and I faced up to him a bit.
“Silvia told me to let it go. And then… well, you see it in the video: he pretends to leave, gets the stick… and takes good aim,” Mr Gil said.
Several people who witnessed the attack ran to help Mr Gil and then restrained the attacker until police arrived.
Mr Gil said his face was swollen for a week, especially around the jaw, but he did not suffer any broken bones or other significant injuries.