The Specialized Section on Hate and Discrimination of the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office of Barcelona has warned of a "significant increase" in crimes of fostering hatred, hostility, discrimination, or violence due to Islamophobia, based on the data included in the 2026 Report, relating to activity during the year 2025.
This was explained to the media by the Delegate Prosecutor against Hate Crimes, Marta Gloria López Catalá, who detailed that, by criminal type, in cases of hate speech contemplated in article 510.1.a) of the Penal Code, the predominant cause is Islamophobia.
She specified that, according to her own experience, there has been an increase of close to 80%, although this is the first year in which this specific form of discrimination is recorded separately, since previously it was integrated within the general category of discrimination for religious reasons.
Main types of hate crimes
In relation to the crimes of article 510.2.a), which punishes those who attack the dignity of persons through acts that entail humiliation, contempt, or discredit, most of the proceedings are due to discrimination based on sexual orientation, followed by gender identity, as well as race and nation.
Regarding the crimes classified in article 511, which punishes the denial of public services for discriminatory reasons, the most frequent motive is disability or sexual orientation. In the case of article 512, which applies to those who, in the professional or business sphere, deny a service, the main factors are antisemitism, disability and sexual orientation.
The prosecutor also underlined that there are common crimes, such as coercion or threats, to which an aggravating factor may be added when discriminatory motives are present.
In these situations, the penalty is increased if it is proven that the crime was committed out of hatred or discrimination toward the victim, the most common being that it responds to sexual orientation, nation, or race.
Specific data on Islamophobia
In the field of Islamophobia, and with regard to the crimes of fostering, promoting, or inciting hatred, hostility, discrimination, or violence under article 510.1.a), in 2025 9 investigative proceedings were opened, of which 7 were dismissed, one complaint was filed and the public prosecution service submitted an indictment.
As for the offenses of 510.2.a), the Prosecutor's Office recorded 5 indictment documents for Islamophobia and one guilty verdict was handed down without agreement.
If offenses of any kind committed with a discriminatory component are taken into account, one indictment document was filed and 3 agreed judgments were handed down.
Sexual orientation, nation and Islamophobia, main reasons
Analyzing globally the set of investigative proceedings initiated, complaints, dismissals, indictment documents and judicial rulings, the main reason for discrimination continues to be sexual orientation, with 61 cases, followed by nation, with 42, and Islamophobia, with 27.
Next comes discrimination based on ideology, with 18 proceedings; gender identity, with 13; race, with 11; disability, with 9, and religion (other than Muslim), gender and antisemitism, with 5 each, while anti-Roma prejudice appears with a single case.
Regarding aporophobia, no proceedings are on record, although the prosecutor has clarified that "not because there have not been any, but because they have not given rise to an indictment document or because they have been dismissed".
She has insisted that the main obstacle in these cases is the difficulty of locating the victims, since they often lack a stable address, so preconstituted evidence is always sought, which has the same validity as their testimony in a possible trial.