The judge who is in charge of the Madrid Arenas case, Eduardo López Palop, was surprised to see a man whose incarceration he had just ordered, burst into his office.

When the man entered, the judge had been in conversation with the Public Prosecutor – it was just after one in the afternoon. What happened next was not the sort of thing that judges are used to, because the man leapt over the judge’s desk, grabbed him by the neck and then proceeded the beat judge’s head against the floor.

Sharp legal minds might deduce from this unorthodox approach that the defendant was not in total accord with the judge’s findings, but let’s not jump to hasty conclusions…

The assailant – who is of Moroccan origin and has a criminal record, laced with convictions for violent robbery – was prized off the stricken judge’s neck by a security guard, who was in charge of the courtroom cells… where the aggressor should have been.

The Public Prosecutor, who no doubt heroically shouted encouragement to the judge, was not harmed, but nevertheless, together with the judge, he was examined by medical staff. The judge, although dented, was declared fit.

According to the Tribunal Superior de Justicia, this occurrence is not habitual in the nation’s law courts and offices, explaining that the aggressor had been “annoyed” by the judge ordering  that he to be taken into custody.

Apparently, the man took advantage of a careless moment on the part of  the guard in charge of the cells, who had opened the door to take another prisoner for transferring to a prison. The aggressor slammed the door into the guard and skipped off, meaningfully, on his mission. The security guards weren’t far behind, mind, which is why he only managed to bounce the judge’s head off the floor a couple of times before finding himself reunited with the security guard.

Unsurprisingly, the judge has decided to open a case against his assailant for attacking a figure of authority, albeit, a groggy one.

(News: Madrid, Spain)