Alex Trelinski
TWO SECURITY GUARDS at the Benicalap municipal swimming pool in Valencia have been arrested for hate crimes after allegedly stopping her entering the facility because she was wearing a veil.
Fadila Said took her two children aged 5 and 8 to the pool last month and claims she was racially abused.
She alleges that the two men, aged 32 and 50, told her to ‘go back to your f—ing country’ and showed disgust at the clothes she wore.
Said also claims that they threatened ‘to beat her up’ if she did not leave.
The guards work for a concessionary company that manages the swimming pool and they gave statements to the Policia Nacional on Thursday.
Fadila Said admits that she wanted to enter the pool area without a bathing suit, but pointed out to the men that she had no intention of swimming but was merely accompanying her children.
The pool operator says that it did not allow her access because ‘she intended to bathe in street clothes which is prohibited’.
Valencia City Council has issued a statement where it has announced that it will hold an investigation with the Municipal Sports Foundation and the Office of Non-Discrimination (ONDIS) to ‘establish the facts and take any appropriate measures’.
The council pointed out that ‘all types of discrimination are condemned and work is done daily to avoid situations that could violate the rights of people’, adding that it will help with the Policia Nacional investigation if required.
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