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Killing of Nuno Ribeiro

Nuno Miguel Ribeiro de Araujo, a 17-year-old openly gay Portuguese boy, was beaten to death in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, on April 14, 2000, in an attack later found to be homophobically motivated.

SOLVED2000

Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra

3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Nuno Miguel Ribeiro de Araujo was a 17-year-old Portuguese boy who was openly homosexual. In the early morning of April 14, 2000, he was beaten to death in an alley in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra. Two Spanish youths, aged 20 and 22 — identified as Sergi Ruiz Lázaro and Domingo López Acedo — carried out the attack.

The case drew significant media attention in Andorra due to the severity of the violence involved and the homophobic motivation attributed to the killing. The killing is credited with motivating the creation of Som com Som, an association formed to advocate for LGBTQ rights in Andorra.

Following the killing, Sergi Ruiz Lázaro and Domingo López Acedo were tried before the Tribunal de Corts, which sentenced them to five and sixteen years of imprisonment, respectively. On October 24, 2001, the criminal division of the High Court of Andorra upheld this conviction on appeal.

In May 2002, the Constitutional Court of Andorra partially overturned the conviction. The court found that the original ruling could not be sustained on the basis that the crime violated the dignity of the person, because homophobia was not criminalized under Andorran law at that time. As a result, the sentences of both Sergi Ruiz and Domingo López were reduced by one year each, and their convictions were maintained solely on the charge of murder, rather than on any aggravated basis tied to the homophobic motivation of the crime.

Key facts

Victims
Nuno Miguel Ribeiro de Araujo
Date
2000
Location
Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 2000-04-14

    Nuno Miguel Ribeiro de Araujo, 17, is beaten to death in an alley in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra.

  2. 2001-10-24

    The criminal division of the High Court of Andorra upholds the conviction of the two assailants.

  3. 2002-05

    The Constitutional Court of Andorra partially overturns the conviction, reducing both sentences by one year and convicting the pair solely for murder.

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People

  • Sergi Ruiz Lázaro

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder by the Tribunal de Corts; originally sentenced to sixteen years, reduced by one year following partial appeal in May 2002.

  • Nuno Miguel Ribeiro de Araujo

    VICTIM

    17-year-old Portuguese boy beaten to death in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, on April 14, 2000, in an attack described as homophobically motivated.

  • Domingo López Acedo

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of murder by the Tribunal de Corts; originally sentenced to five years, reduced by one year following partial appeal in May 2002.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra

42.5086, 1.5343

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
Nuno Miguel Ribeiro de Araujo, a 17-year-old openly gay Portuguese boy, was beaten to death in Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, on April 14, 2000, in an attack later found to be homophobically motivated.
Where did the killing happen?
Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra.
Who was convicted?
Sergi Ruiz Lázaro (Convicted of murder by the Tribunal de Corts; originally sentenced to sixteen years, reduced by one year following partial appeal in May 2002.) and Domingo López Acedo (Convicted of murder by the Tribunal de Corts; originally sentenced to five years, reduced by one year following partial appeal in May 2002.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved.
More cases in Andorra

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICKilling of Nuno RibeiroWikipedia · 2026-07-07
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — vilaweb.catvilaweb.cat · 2026-07-07
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — andorradifusio.adandorradifusio.ad · 2026-07-07

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026

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