The mother of a Spanish woman who died by euthanasia following a gang-rape ordeal has initiated efforts to identify the alleged attackers after discovering new details in her daughter's diary.
Noelia Castillo Ramos, 25, became paraplegic after jumping from a roof in the aftermath of an alleged assault. She later chose to end her life through Spain's assisted dying law, passing away on March 26 at an assisted living facility in Barcelona.
On Thursday, her mother, Yolanda Ramos, announced that she had filed two complaints with public prosecutor's offices in Barcelona and Tarragona. These complaints seek an investigation into the alleged sexual assaults her daughter suffered.
Ramos, represented by the Spanish Foundation of Christian Lawyers, aims to identify the alleged assailants using information from Noelia's diary, which her daughter gave to her on the day she died. The diary entries describe Noelia being forced into sex by her ex-boyfriend, who is of Pakistani nationality, and recounting being drugged, plied with alcohol, and raped by three men after meeting a waiter in Salou, Tarragona.
At the time of the alleged assaults, the family was unable to report the incidents due to a lack of conclusive evidence. Following Noelia's death, Ramos gained access to evidence, including the diary, that had not been previously analyzed, according to a press release from Christian Lawyers.
In a video accompanying the press release, Ramos stated her pursuit of justice as what her daughter would have wanted. "Noelia spoke about the rapes on television, and on the very day she died, she gave me her diary. When I read it, I understood many things," she said.
Noelia's case garnered significant public attention in Spain. Her young age, her family's public efforts to support her decision, and the circumstances leading to her request for euthanasia influenced public opinion, and the courts ultimately affirmed her right to end her life.
Her request for euthanasia was approved in July 2024 by an independent body in Catalonia comprised of doctors, lawyers, and bioethics experts. The approval was based on assessments deeming her condition serious and incurable, and her suffering severe, chronic, and debilitating.
The process was delayed when her father, with the support of Christian Lawyers, filed a series of legal challenges. These appeals were rejected by multiple levels of the Spanish legal system, including the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, paving the way for the euthanasia to proceed. A final attempt to halt the procedure at the European Court of Human Rights was also rejected shortly before her death.
Spain's euthanasia law, which came into force in 2021, allows individuals of sound mind suffering from a serious and incurable illness or a chronic and disabling condition to request assistance to die. In 2024, the most recent year for which data is available, 426 requests for assisted dying were granted, according to government figures.
Noelia, who had been confined to a wheelchair since 2022, had spoken publicly about her decision and the suffering that led to it. "I want to go now and stop suffering, period. None of my family is in favour of euthanasia. But what about all the pain I've suffered during all these years?" she said in a pre-death interview on Spanish television. She described difficulty sleeping and experiencing back and leg pain.
Her father had argued that his daughter suffered from mental disorders that could impair her ability to make a free and conscious decision, and that there were indications she had changed her mind and her ailment did not constitute unbearable suffering. However, Noelia had stated in her final interview that her father had not respected her decision.
Spain is among several European countries with laws permitting assisted dying for individuals experiencing unbearable suffering, though criteria vary by nation. Medically assisted suicide typically involves the patient self-administering a lethal substance prescribed by a doctor, while euthanasia involves medical practitioners actively administering a lethal injection at the patient's request under strict conditions.