The Spanish Supreme Court has upheld lengthy prison sentences for four North African migrants convicted of gang rape and sexual assault, rejecting appeals that sought to overturn or reduce their sentences.
The men were sentenced for their heinous attack on a Norwegian tourist in a park in Puerto Rico, Mogán, Gran Canaria on Feb. 26, 2021.
The court held that on that evening, a Norwegian woman was walking alone in the Agua La Perra park, when she was approached by the first defendant, Aziz Laghribi, who grabbed her and forced her to a more secluded area where co-defendants Mohammed El Bazouni, Hicham El Adnanny, and Hamza Ez Zahaf waited.
The four men then proceeded to take turns raping the victim both vaginally and anally in an attack that horrified the island and led to a wider debate about security following a rise in illegal immigration.
The initial judgment from the Provincial Court of Las Palmas imposed a 42-year sentence on the main perpetrator, Aziz Laghribi, and 36-year sentences for his three accomplices. The court also ordered the three accomplices, all of North African origin and in Spain illegally, to collectively compensate the victim with €15,000.
According to the judgment, the group acted with clear intent, both as direct perpetrators and as necessary collaborators. The evidence — bolstered by DNA findings and incriminating messages on one of the defendants’ phones — was pivotal in confirming each man’s role. The Supreme Court affirmed that their coordinated actions and premeditation warranted aggravated sentences.
During the appeals process, the defense claimed a breach of the legal principle non bis in idem, which prohibits dual punishment as both perpetrators and collaborators. Its literal translation from Latin reads “not twice in the same thing.”
The Supreme Court dismissed this argument and the ruling, signed by Supreme Court President Carmen Lamela Díaz, is final and brings an end to all legal avenues for appeal.
Additionally, the convicted men are required to bear the procedural costs accrued during the appeal process.