“I was afraid to report my assault”

Carlos, 43, says he thought it strange that there was nobody else in the car park behind Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring. It wasn’t the first time he had met other men there, but it would be the last. When he arrived, at around 11.30pm on January 21, he locked his vehicle and approached the only other car parked there.

Within seconds, he heard steps behind him and, looking round, saw eight or so men dressed in black running in his direction. He attempted to flee but was cornered against a fence and struck on the head. After falling to the ground, he tried to protect his head as blows and kicks rained down on him. Opening his eyes for an instant, he saw a way through the fence, and rolled down an embankment to the edge of the M30 ring road. “I had no idea where I was going, but I just wanted to get away from them,” he says.

A month later, Carlos has been unable to return to work. He may never fully recover from his injuries

He picked himself up, and before running off, saw that the group had now begun attacking the man he had arranged to meet.

A passer-by called an ambulance, and he was taken to hospital, where he learned his shoulder was broken in several places.

A month after the attack, Carlos – not his real name – has been unable to return to work. He may never fully recover from his injuries.

Initially, he says he was afraid to report the attack to the police, but was eventually persuaded by his family.

Security cameras in the car park helped identify three of his assailants, all minors. “The police told me that all of them had previous convictions for assault,” he says. Carlos refused to attend an identity lineup: “I’m afraid that they will recognize me and take reprisals. I just want to recover from this and get on with my life.”

He learned later that the man he had arranged to meet spent several days in hospital, and later filed his own complaint. “He’s prepared to go through with the whole thing,” says Carlos.