The brutal murder of Samuel Luiz Muñiz outrages Spain: he was beaten to death for being homosexual

Just days after LGBTQ + Pride, the Spanish city of La Coruña mourned the murder of 24-year-old Samuel Luiz Muñiz, after being brutally beaten by a group of subjects around three in the morning on Saturday in what has been described as a homophobic assault.

A group of young people beat him until he was seriously injured. Upon realizing the poor condition in which the victim had been left, they left him lying in the middle of the street and left the place.

Although health officials tried to revive him for approximately two hours, they were unable to save his life and he ended up dying in hospital.

The event took place during the second night of nightlife since the restrictions were lifted in Galicia. Relatives and friends of the victim launched a forceful campaign on social networks with the label #JusticeForSamuel with which they ask for information about the facts and they defend that the young man “did not die, he was murdered”, while explaining that the event it is a homophobic aggression.

THE FACTS

According to some versions, the event occurred when Samuel was at the entrance of a nightclub using his cell phone, one of the friends who accompanied him assures that he was making a video call.

Apparently this fact generated confusion in the group of aggressors who were also in the place, because, according to the witnesses, the young people alleged that Samuel was recording towards where they were, specifically to the girls who accompanied them, this being the supposed reason for the annoyance for what one of them rebuked him and hit him.

Later, the other men in the group joined who between fists and kicks ended up causing serious injuries to the 24-year-old boy.

Witnesses assure that it was about seven subjects who beat Samuel, preventing him from even having a chance to defend himself. Likewise, it was announced that while they attacked him they shouted “fag” at him, so they do not doubt that the attack is related to a fact of homophobia.

The Spanish police informed the agency EFE that they have found the capture of at least 13 people for their alleged involvement in the events.

REACTIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The crime against Samuel quickly impacted society and gained great relevance, thanks to a campaign on social networks (#JusticeForSamuel), after the publication of a tweet by a girl who identifies herself as a friend of the victim and who stated: “A friend of mine has just been killed, next to Riazor yesterday at 3:00 in the morning. They have killed him because of his sexual orientation. He was 24 years old. If you saw something, please count on me”.

The repercussions of the case quickly spread to the point that both politicians and artists joined the campaign in repudiation of the crime.

The renowned Spanish singer and composer, Alejandro Sanz, has expressed in a series of tweets his dissatisfaction with the death of the young man: “That Samuel’s sexual orientation worries us more than the criminal instinct of his or his killers, says a lot about how screwed we are,” wrote the artist.

The singer, who received multiple criticisms on the networks for his publications, also condemned the fact that some people and the media denied that Samuel’s death was a murder related to his sexual identity.

SAMUEL’S FATHER SPOKE

Maxsoud Luiz, father of the victim, spoke about what happened with the local media The voice of Galicia and expressed his pain at the brutality of the death of his son and said that all he did was try to mediate an argument.

He claims that the attack was caused by a “damn confusion” and that his son “has done absolutely nothing” to get him killed. He called for the arrest of the guilty so that there is justice.

“I would ask the families of those who killed my son how would they feel if they were in my place.” Said Luiz.

MARCH AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA

The Avante LGBT + organization called concentrations for this Monday starting at 20:00 (local time) throughout Galicia, and other activities that will take place in various cities of Spain to repudiate homophobia and the death of Samuel.

The organization asked through social networks “to clarify if it was a murder LGTBphobic as witnesses indicate”.

The Polish association Affective and Sexual Liberdade da A Coruña has also been one of the main organizations in promoting the marches for this Monday.

With the slogans “Enough of LGTBFOBIA” and the viralized “JusticeforSamuel”, seek to raise awareness in Spain and the world, about the seriousness of the attacks suffered by LGBTQ + people.