Sergi Xavier Martin

Sergi Xavier Martin Martinez gained worldwide notoriety after attacking, on October 7, 2007, an immigrant minor in the Barcelona metro. Martin Martinez spat at, insulted, groped and kicked in the face the Ecuadorian girl for no apparent reason other than her ethnic origin. The attack was captured by the security cameras in a video1. After being arrested, Martin Martinez was released by the Spanish police. He explained his behavior to the press as having been caused by intoxication.

This attack created diplomatic tensions between his country and Latin American nations, more specifically Ecuador from where the victim of the attack is a citizen. Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Ramirez pledged to raise the issue with the Spanish authorities during his upcoming visit to Spain, and the Peruvian government proposed a Latin American protest over the incident, according to Spanish news reports.

Moreover, a poll performed by the Instituto Opina after the attack revealed that the majority of Spaniards believe their country to have inadequate laws to deal with hate crimes and racial intolerance.

Ecuador takes on 'racist attack', BBC 2

Spaniards Want Tough Laws for Xenophobia3