Spain’s Podemos party blames ‘institutional racism’ for death of Senegalese migrant

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA)— Spain’s far-left Podemos party on Thursday attributed the recent death of a Senegalese immigrant to “institutional racism” and brought his case to the European Commission.

“He died because he was persecuted by the police, because of institutional racism and the criminalization of those who have the least,” wrote Member of European Parliament Isa Serra on X, referring to the death of Mahmoud Bakhum.

Last Sunday, the 43-year-old man was working as a street vendor in central Seville, selling sports jerseys laid out on a blanket.

Then, according to reports, police began chasing him.

He ran for around one kilometer (0.62 miles) and then jumped into the river that passes through the city center.

He died in the river, and authorities later retrieved his lifeless body.

Shortly after, around 20 people from the Senegalese community protested at the local police station. One man was arrested.

“Spain is a racist country; local police in Seville always chase us,” Lamine, a friend of Bakhum’s, told the Spanish daily El Salto.

Lamine also told a story about being beaten by the police in August after they caught him selling pirated goods on the street.

“When I went to denounce it, they asked if I had evidence. I had a black eye, but I couldn’t demonstrate it was them,” added Lamine.

Police told local media the following day that Bakhum had acted strangely.

“We tried as hard as we could to stop him from jumping into the river,” said Antonio Luis Moreno, head of the local police.

Besides Podemos, several activist groups have condemned the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Pro Human Rights Association of Andalucia (APDHA) called his death “entirely preventable” and called for an independent investigation to clarify what happened.

The APDHA also slammed the city’s mayor for implementing a plan against street vendors as the first measure after taking office.

“Seville is the Spanish city with the poorest neighborhoods and with significant pockets of social exclusion. Criminalizing street vending, a practice often relied upon by the most disadvantaged individuals, constitutes a direct attack on the most vulnerable groups in our society,” the association said in a statement.

Another protest in Sevilla is scheduled for Thursday night.