“People prefer to stay at home”
Mysterious needle attacks on women in Spain
8/3/2022 9:33 p.m
While partying, young women are attacked unnoticed with injections – later they complain of nausea, dizziness or headaches. In Mallorca, Ibiza, but also in the Basque Country, the cases of these mysterious attacks, which have already occurred in several European countries, are increasing.
Dozens of young women have been injured with needles or injections while partying in the holiday destination of Spain in recent weeks. The mysterious attacks mostly happen at music festivals, bars and dance clubs. There have been at least 50 ads since the beginning of July, the newspaper “El Mundo” reported, citing authorities. Many of the women who were attacked did not file a complaint, partly because they only noticed the spades and the consequences – such as nausea and dizziness – later, it was said. There have been no arrests so far.
Numerous regions are affected – including the Balearic Islands with the holiday island of Mallorca, which is popular with Germans. The Guardia Civil police unit announced there that they were investigating six cases. Four would have happened in Mallorca and two in Ibiza. The needle attacks are puzzles. The bitten people complain about health problems such as nausea, dizziness and headaches. However, the obvious assumption that the perpetrators drug their victims in order to rob them or to sexually assault them has not been confirmed in any of the reported cases, the media reported, citing the police. Toxins have so far not been found in the blood samples in almost all cases. So far nothing is known about the motives of the perpetrators.
Attacks with needles or injections at festivals and in clubs initially occurred in Great Britain. From the beginning of the summer, hundreds of cases were also reported in France. According to the media, some needle attacks (needle spiking) have also been recorded in Germany. Against this background, the otherwise rather secretive Berlin techno club Berghain now appeals to clubgoers on its website to watch out for one another.
Needle attacks also in the bull hunt of Pamplona
In Spain, meanwhile, it is a completely new phenomenon, the media wrote, citing police spokesmen. The first reports of “pinchazos,” as the attacks are called in Spain, were reported in July during the Pamplona bull hunt, which was also attended by foreigners. Meanwhile, Catalonia and the Basque Country have been hit the hardest. In these two, but also in other regions, the police began investigations.
“This raises social concerns, especially given the possibility of sexual violence against women, although this has not been confirmed at the moment,” said Catalan Minister for Equality Tània Verge. The young Mallorcan Lourdes Sosa admitted to the newspaper “Última Hora” that the fear was spreading. “People almost prefer to stay at home with friends.”