Suspended Sentences for Hector Barbera and Girlfriend

Dennis Chung
by Dennis Chung

The legal system in Spain sure moves quickly, doesn’t it? Not long after news broke that Avintia Blusens MotoGP racer Hector Barbera was arrested after a domestic violence complaint involving his girlfriend, the couple have already appeared in court and both parties were found at fault and handed suspended sentences.

Spain has a special process for domestic abuse cases with hundreds of courtrooms reserved for dealing with domestic violence. These specialized tribunals, established in 2004, are designed to bring immediate action in cases involving couples.

The courts acted swiftly, finding both Barbera and his partner, identified only as “DP” were equally responsible for what transpired. Barbera was handed a sentence of six months in prison, commuted to 14 months of community service. DP was sentenced to five months in prison, but her sentence was commuted as she has a clean record. It should be noted that Barbera’s previous arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol in January 2012 factored into the difference in their sentences.

The presiding judge also issued a restraining order on both parties, preventing them from being within 200 meters of each other for 13 months. Both parties were also placed under a ban against owning a gun.

According to Ines.es, the incident took place in Jerez, site of this past weekend’s MotoGP race. Ines.es reports the argument began because DP wanted to end the relationship. DP tells Ines.es the couple returned to their hotel when Barbera grabbed her arms and neck and knocked her to the ground.

Barbera released a statement on his Facebook page saying (translated from Spanish):

In relation to the events of today, to clarify that it was not more than a couple discussion and resolved by the Court of Jerez and both parties have agreed.

Acts that have transcended regret this, regardless of whether the Court has resolved Jerez equally to both parties.

[Source: Ines.es, Hector Barbera ( Facebook)]

Dennis Chung
Dennis Chung

Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.

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