Six months in prison and a €1,000 fine for the man who painted a swastika near a synagogue in Madrid

The High Court of Justice of Madrid has dismissed the appeal lodged by the man who was convicted in 2026 of a hate crime after painting a Nazi Swastika in the vicinity of Madrid’s synagogue in the Chamberí neighbourhood.

The judges of the High Court rejected the claim that his right to the presumption of innocence had been violated during the criminal proceedings. They also found that the National Socialist symbol painted with spray paint was clearly a Nazi swastika and not another type of cross, contrary to the convicted man’s argument that the trial court had misidentified the graffiti. The appellant claimed that it was, in fact, the Jerusalem Cross.

Accordingly, the judges held that the lower court’s assessment was correct: the symbol depicted was a Nazi symbol, something that is evident both legally and historically.

The ruling of the Provincial Court has therefore been upheld, imposing a sentence of six months’ imprisonment, a fine of more than €1,000, and a five-year ban on working in educational, sporting, or youth leisure activities. He is also prohibited from coming within 500 metres of Madrid’s synagogue for the next five years.

As the judges noted, the graffiti was painted at the entrance to a Jewish place of worship as an expression of contempt for the victims of the genocide and extermination of six million Europeans because of their Jewish faith.