Safety · Barcelona
Spanish Supreme Court orders Spain to pay €2.5m to man wrongly jailed 15 years after DNA was ignored
The Spanish Supreme Court has ordered the state to pay €2.5 million to Ahmed Tommouhi, a Moroccan man who spent 15 years in prison for rapes he did not commit, after DNA that excluded him was ignored at trial.
AI text based on reports by Libertatea, Stirile ProTV, Telegraaf and other publishers. Published . How it is made
For membersThe first 30 seconds for everyone. Synthetic voice (AI).
In brief
Ahmed Tommouhi was convicted of rapes in 1992 and spent 15 years in prison plus three on supervised release before being fully exonerated in December 2025.
A biological test showing his DNA did not match the semen traces on a victim's clothing was overlooked during the original trial.
The Supreme Court ordered Spain to pay €2.5 million, overturning an earlier refusal, and called the case one of the gravest judicial errors.
Abderrazak Mounib, also innocent, was convicted alongside Tommouhi and died of a heart attack in prison in 2000.
- 2006Released on parole after 14 years and 10 months in prison
- December 2025Final conviction overturned, fully exonerated
- 18 JunSupreme Court orders €2.5 million compensation
The wrongful conviction
In 1991, Moroccan bricklayer Ahmed Tommouhi moved to Spain seeking a new life. Within months he was arrested in Catalonia with Abderrazak Mounib and charged with a string of rapes and robberies. A court convicted both men in 1992 largely on victim identifications, sentencing Tommouhi to 24 years in prison.
DNA evidence overlooked
A forensic report from Barcelona's Scientific Police showed that the DNA profile from semen on a victim's clothing did not match Tommouhi or Mounib. The jury ignored this exculpatory evidence during the original trial. The Supreme Court later described the omission as a "clear and qualified judicial error."
Decades-long exoneration
In 1997 several victims identified the real perpetrator, and a 2015 legal reform eased the path for reviews. Tommouhi's three outstanding convictions were overturned by the Supreme Court between 2023 and 2025; the last was vacated in December 2025. He served 15 years in prison and three more under supervised release. Mounib died of a heart attack behind bars in 2000.
“The justice system has destroyed my life. They stole 36 years of my life.”
Compensation ruling
This week the Supreme Court ordered Spain to pay €2.5 million, reversing a National Court decision that had denied any compensation. The judges stressed that the extraordinary length of his detention caused progressive moral suffering and a loss of life opportunities far beyond typical cases.
“The prolongation of deprivation of liberty determines a progressive intensification of moral suffering, the loss of vital opportunities and an impact on the personality of the affected person that far exceeds the ordinary parameters of cases of unjust detention of short or medium duration.”
Legal significance
The court clarified that a conviction being overturned does not automatically make the state liable, but the proven omission of essential evidence can establish a judicial error requiring compensation.
Ask about this text
Sources and context
- LibertateaCoșmarul unui bărbat care a stat în închisoare pentru fapte pe care nu le-a comis. Suma uriașă primită drept despăgubire
- Stirile ProTVUn bărbat închis 15 ani pe nedrept va primi 2,5 milioane de euro de la statul spaniol. Ce acuzații i s-au adus - Știrile ProTV
- TelegraafMiljoenenvergoeding voor man die onschuldig 15 jaar vastzat in Spanje
- Mediafax.roEroare judiciară în Spania. Câți bani va primi un bărbat care a stat 18 ani în închisoare pentru violuri pe care nu le-a comis
- Ahmed Tommouhi
- Moroccan bricklayer wrongly convicted of rape and imprisoned for 15 years in Spain
- Abderrazak Mounib
- Co-defendant also wrongfully convicted who died in prison in 2000
- Places
- Barcelona
Pollar is free and carries no ads in the text. Its members keep it going.
Support Pollar