Alleged victim of Madrid homophobic attack says injuries were consensual - Interior Ministry

An LGBT flag hangs from a building in Malasana neighbourhood, site of a suspected homophobic assault on a 20-year-old Spaniard in central Madrid, September 8, 2021. REUTERS/Susana Vera

MADRID (Reuters) - A 20-year old Spanish man who said a masked gang assaulted him with a knife in Madrid and carved a homophobic slur into his buttocks has since told police the injuries were consensual, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

Protests had been called across Spain on Wednesday evening in response to the supposed attack, whose apparent brutality and proximity to the renowned gay-friendly neighbourhood of Chueca stunned Spanish society.