He can still walk on the wild side.
A Spanish high court has ruled in favor of a man who was fined for walking naked in the streets of Aldaia in the Valencia province and later stopped from entering a courthouse wearing only black socks and hiking boots, Reuters reported Friday.
The Valencia court determined Alejandro Colomar, 29, had “limited himself to remaining or circulating naked at different times in two different streets of Aldaia,” and his behavior did not imply an “alteration of citizen security, tranquility or public order,” according to the outlet.
The computer scientist says he’s been walking around his village naked since 2020, claiming people are more supportive than insulting of his clothes-free lifestyle.
Except for the government, as Colomar has reported receiving fines totaling around $3,000.
Adamant there is nothing unlawful about his naturist lifestyle, Colomar arrived at a courthouse hearing in Valencia naked except for his footwear and a backpack carrying clothes. He was allowed to enter when he got dressed.
“The fine doesn’t make any sense,” Colomar told Reuters. “They accused me of obscene exhibitionism. According to the dictionary that implies sexual intent and [that] has nothing to do with what I was doing.”
His attorney, Pablo Mora, said Colomar was accused of violating article 37 of the city’s vice laws that prohibit extreme nudism.
“It is understood that obscene exhibitionism is to masturbate or do really obscene acts, the mere fact of going naked we understand that it is a manifestation of Alejandro’s ideological freedom,” Mora said after the courthouse incident in September, per the Daily Mail.
Reuters noted the high court acknowledged a “legal vacuum” in Spanish law regarding public nudity.
Public nudity has been legal in Spain since 1988. Regions, such as Valladolid and Barcelona, have laws to regulate nudism, but Aldaia is not one of them, Reuters reported.