Figueres is at the centre of renewed concern over gender violence after a 33-year-old Honduran woman was killed in the town by her ex-partner, despite a restraining order against him. The case has prompted anger in Alt Empordà and across Catalonia, and has raised questions about how protection measures are applied.
The woman, identified as E., was stabbed to death in a square on Tuesday by A.R., according to the original report. Images shared on social media reportedly showed the man washing the victim's blood off himself at a public fountain before passers-by detained him for police. He was later arrested as the alleged perpetrator.
The killing is described as the third femicide in Catalonia this year. It also came after A.R. had already been arrested for breaching a restraining order. On Monday, he accepted a six-month prison sentence and a restraining order that barred him from coming within 250 metres of E. or contacting her for one year and four months. He then violated that order again by assaulting her.
After the new assault, E. was summoned to court on Tuesday for a forensic examination and to give a statement to the judge, but she did not attend. A.R. was released, and hours later E. was killed. The judge who released him later certified the body's removal.
Patrícia Melgar, lead researcher for the University of Girona's gender research group, said a femicide is the end point of a process of violence. She said the Figueres case was especially serious because it followed assaults within the framework of a violated restraining order. Eva Menor, the Minister for Equality and Feminisms, told ARA that the circumstances are being analysed, and said public servants must work out why it happened and how to prevent new risk situations for women. More Catalonia news
On Wednesday morning, around 500 people gathered outside Figueres City Council for a minute of silence. Mayor Jordi Masquef said the victim's protection system had failed, and said the council would act as a popular prosecution against the detainee under the 2020 Law on Equal Treatment and Non-Discrimination. The Espai d'Intercanvi Feminista de l'Empordà also called for answers, saying measures cannot be taken only when it is already too late. Generalitat de Catalunya, Catalan Interior Department
