Scots thug with Hitler tattoo threatened to murder black man in racist rant (2024)

A far-right thug who has a tattoo of Adolf Hitler on his arm threatened to murder a black man during a shocking racist rant at police officers. Salvador Apellaniz, who also sports swastika inkings on his body, told two constables they would "find a black man dead" if he was forced to spend a night in custody after being arrested.

The Spanish national also told the officers "I hate blacks" and praised the Nazis during his outburst while waiting in a van outside an Edinburgh police station in November 2022.

Apellaniz, 32, denied making the "repugnant" comments and told a jury the officers had "misinterpreted" his words when he stood trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court this week. But following the evidence the jury took just 30 minutes to return a guilty verdict that Apellaniz had behaved in a threatening or abusive manner by making offensive comments and uttering a threat to kill.

PC Jonathan Goldring told the trial Apellaniz had been arrested on a separate matter and had to wait around 60 minutes inside a police van at St Leonard's police station in Edinburgh.

The officer said while in the van Apellaniz, from Muirhouse, Edinburgh, had spoken of the good the Wehrmacht - the Nazi armed forces - had done during World War 2.

The officer said Apellaniz had also told him: "If I spend one night in here that black guy will be murdered. You will find a black man dead. I'm a nationalist - I hate the blacks. They came to Spain and f***ed all my women."

PC Clare Mitchell said she was "one hundred percent certain" she had heard the comments and when Apellaniz had "showed off" his racist tattoos, she had spotted the portrait of Hitler on his left arm. Apellaniz, speaking through an interpreter, told the jury he had been in the UK for around five years and that he now distanced himself from his fascist past and wanted to "start a new life from zero".

He said he got the Hitler tattoo along with several other "extreme" inkings including swastikas when he was in his early 20s and still living in Spain. The Spanish national, who also has several tattoos covering his head and face, claimed the officers had arrested him because of his appearance and that he had done nothing wrong that night.

Apellaniz denied making any of the racist comments while sitting in the police van claiming the officers had "misinterpreted" what he was saying. He said: "I never said those things. They never left my mouth."

But the jury failed to believe his lies and found him guilty of the charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner by uttering offensive and derogatory remarks and uttering a threat to kill on November 27, 2022.

Sheriff Kevin McCarron said: "You have been convicted by a jury of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner. It has been established the offence was racially aggravated. The offence you have been convicted of is one of making comments that are repugnant and offensive to all right-minded people.

"You should be under no illusion that the imposition of a custodial sentence is coming to mind. You should prepare yourself for a custodial sentence."

Apellaniz was granted bail following the verdict on Wednesday and sentence was deferred for social work reports and a restriction of liberty assessment to next month.

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