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Agence France-Presse

Spain’s Supreme Court on Friday found five men who called themselves “the wolf pack” guilty of gang rape, refuting previous convictions of the lesser offence of sexual abuse in a case that shook the country.
The Madrid-based tribunal sentenced each defendant to 15 years in prison, overturning two previous rulings in the case that sparked mass protests in Spain.
“The factual account describes a genuine scenario of intimidation in which the victim never consents to the sexual acts performed by the accused,” the court ruled.
The victim found herself in “a situation of intimidation that made her adopt an attitude of submission, doing what the perpetrators told her to do.”

The five men raped the drunk woman, then aged 18, at the entrance to a flat building in Pamplona in July 2016 at the start of the popular San Fermin bull-running festival.
Minutes after meeting her, they had unprotected sexual relations with her that included oral sex and left her half-naked in the doorway. One of them also stole her mobile.
The five filmed the incident with their smartphones and then bragged about it on WhatsApp where they referred to themselves as “La Manada,” or “The Pack”.
The footage they shared on WhatsApp had been used against them in court but also against the victim for her passivity during the act.
Fury as ‘wolf pack’ gang of abusers is released on bail
In April 2018, the men were each sentenced to nine years in jail for sexual abuse but judges acquitted them of the more serious offence of rape.
It was decided there had been no violence or intimidation – necessary to for a rape conviction in Spain – and that the victim did not resist or fight back.
One of the three judges had argued that the men should be fully acquitted.

That decision – and the subsequent release on bail of the defendants – sparked nationwide protests.
“If you resist they kill you, if you do not resist you consent. What to do?” read one sign at a protest.
Following the earlier verdict, the Spanish government announced plans to reform the criminal code to stipulate that a woman must give her explicit consent for sex.
The move would be based on a tough new Swedish law that states a person can be accused of committing rape if the other person has not given explicit consent, even if there is no violence or threats.
The five defendants, all from the southern city of Seville, were not called to the stand on Friday and the victim has never wanted to appear in public.
“The victim was surrounded by the defendants, she was affected and felt incapable of reacting,” prosecutor Isabel Rodriguez argued, calling for an 18-year jail sentence for each defendant, with an extra two for the one who stole the phone.
The court sentenced the latter man to those extra two years.

Defence lawyer Agustin Martinez argued the sex was consensual and called for his clients to be absolved.
He said they could not have realised she was not consenting as she did not shout or resist.
She did not make “any kind of gesture of protest.”
“We haven’t had a fair trial,” he added, denouncing media, social and political “pressure”.
How Japan’s ‘outdated’ rape law is forcing women to suffer in silence
The April 2018 sentence had already been upheld on appeal at the High Court of the northern Navarra region where Pamplona is located.
It said there had been no proof of violence, and that it was too difficult to discern whether intimidation had taken place given the lack of obvious show of force or threats towards the victim.
But two out of five of the male judges had disagreed, saying it was rape.


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Spain

Spanish court sentences Pamplona ‘wolf pack’ to 15 years for gang rape after  they bragged about it on Whatsapp

Antonio Manuel Guerrero (R), one of the five men accused of raping a woman, leaves a court in Sevilla. Photo: EPA-EFE

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 4, 2018 a demonstrator holds a placard reading "let's hunt the pack" during a protest in Madrid, a week after five men, accused of gang raping a woman at Pamplona's bull-running festival, were sentenced to nine years in jail for "sexual abuse" avoiding the more serious charge of rape. - Spain's Supreme Court on June 21, 2019 found five men who called themselves "La Manada" (The pack) guilty of gang rape, refuting previous convictions of the lesser offence of sexual abuse in a case that shook the country. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP)

epa07663634 Angel Boza, one of the five men accused of gang raping a woman back in 2016 during the San Fermines Fiesta, leaves the courts in Sevilla after his appearance in accordance to the legal requirements for his release on bail, in Sevilla, Spain, 21 June 2019. Spanish Police has arrested at the moment four of the five men popularly known as 'La Manada' (wolfpack) in accordance to the arrest warrant ordered by Navarra Provincial Court after Spanish Supreme Court rose from 9 to 15 years the sentence against them for raping a young woman during San Fermines fiestas back in 2016. The Supreme Court considered that all the five accused committed a sexual assault invalidating the previous sentence by Navarra High Court of Justice that read that the aggression was only a sexual abuse. EPA-EFE/PEPO HERRERA

(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 22, 2018 a woman holds a placard reading "It is not Abuse is Rape" during a rally in Madrid held a day after a court ordered the release on bail of five men sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually abusing a young woman at Pamplona's bull-running festival. - Spain's Supreme Court on June 21, 2019 found five men who called themselves "The Pack" guilty of gang rape, refuting previous convictions of the lesser offence of sexual abuse in a case that shook the country. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP)

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Nxivm leader Keith Raniere in a courtroom sketch. Photo: Reuters

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In this courtroom artist's sketch, defendant Keith Raniere, center, sits with attorneys Paul DerOhannesian, left, and Marc Agnifilo during closing arguments at Brooklyn federal court, Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in New York. A federal prosecutor said Raniere used his NXIVM organization to "tap into a never-ending flow of women and money." Attorneys for the defendant say he had no criminal intent and that his sexual encounters with followers were consensual. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Indian court convicts six men for gang rape and murder of eight-year-old Muslim girl in Kathua which stirred religious tensions and violent protests

The seven accused arrive at court. Photo: AFP

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Chong Hing Square in Mong Kok. Photo: Handout

How Japan’s ‘outdated’ rape law is forcing women to suffer in silence

Jun Yamamoto, head of sexual assault victims group Spring, speaks to journalists in Tokyo, Japan May 31, 2019. Picture taken on May 31, 2019. REUTERS/Linda Sieg

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World

Europe

The five men raped a drunk woman at the entrance to a building in Pamplona in 2016
The gang filmed the incident with smartphones and then boasted about it online


The five men raped a drunk woman at the entrance to a flat building in Pamplona in 2016.


Sexual harassment and assault

Crime

Spanish court sentences Pamplona ‘wolf pack’ to 15 years for gang rape after they bragged about it on Whatsapp

The five men raped a drunk woman at the entrance to a building in Pamplona in 2016 The gang filmed the incident with smartphones and then boasted about it online

The five men raped a drunk woman at the entrance to a building in Pamplona in 2016

The gang filmed the incident with smartphones and then boasted about it online