Spanish man accused of indecent exposure turns up at court naked

VALENCIA, 27 Sept 2022:

A man accused of indecent exposure in Valencia tried to enter his court hearing today completely naked.

Defendant Alejandro Colomar was due at the hearing in the eastern city to discuss his appeal against a penalty handed to him for being naked in public.

His lawyer said the defendant had been penalised on separate occasions in the past for indecent exposure, but all charges were being appealed.

Police officers prevented Colomar from entering the courthouse and ordered him to put on clothes and threatened more charges against him if he failed to do so. At that moment, a minor was present in the court building.

“Alejandro already had a criminal trial, he was sentenced for entering a police station while naked,” his lawyer Pablo Mora told journalists.

“This case was lost in the first instance and in the regional court, and is now pending appeal in the Supreme Court. It will likely end up in the Constitutional Court,” he added, in reference to Spain’s highest judicial rung.

“We don’t believe that it is obscene to walk in the street naked. If you masturbate or take part in obscene acts, then yes. We believe that being naked is exercising ideological freedom.”

Meanwhile in Barcelona, another Spanish court ordered Colombian superstar Shakira to stand trial in a multimillion-euro tax fraud case.

The singer, 45, faces six counts of tax fraud for allegedly failing to pay €14.5 million in taxes between 2012-14.

Prosecutors are calling for her to face an eight year prison sentence and a fine of €23.8 million.

They allege that Shakira avoided tax payments during that time by using offshore shell companies while she resided in Barcelona with former partner, football star Gerard Piqué.

Shakira has since repaid the money claimed plus €1 million more in interest – but that does not preclude her from standing trial.

The Hips Don’t Lie singer previously declined a settlement offer, paving the way for the Barcelona court to send the case to trial today.

Prosecutors claim that Shakira resided in Spain for more than 183 days per year between 2012-14, the minimum benchmark under Spanish legislation that stipulates tax obligations.

To avoid the tax, Shakira allegedly used a complex network of shell companies linked to tax havens including the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Malta, Panama and Luxembourg.

– EFE