At about 18:00, patients were still inside Cirumed, in Marbella’s Real Sector urbanisation, when a gunman entered the private medical centre. Police detained an 18-year-old man on Thursday, roughly a day after plastic surgeon Alexander Aslani was killed. The National Police investigation remains under judicial secrecy.
El País and other Spanish media described the detention as a impressive development, though the inquiry continues. Police have not disclosed the evidence behind the arrest or explained the suspect’s alleged role. He remains presumed innocent unless and until a court establishes responsibility.
El País reported that Aslani was a German citizen who lived on Spain’s Costa del Sol.
The arrest shifts the case away from an early possibility that at least one attacker had fled Spain. Investigators have yet to make the evidence public, and the judicial file remains sealed from ordinary scrutiny.
Reports of the attack say two men arrived at the clinic. One went straight to Aslani’s office with a handgun while patients were still on the premises. He shot the surgeon three times in the head, then fired again into his neck. The gunman escaped with an accomplice who had been waiting outside on a motorcycle.
The target was a surgeon with an international profile in aesthetic medicine.
Aslani was 57 and had more than three decades of professional experience. From 2008 to 2018, he led Plastic Surgery departments at Quirón hospitals in Málaga and Marbella. He later founded Cirumed as his own centre for cosmetic surgery and body reshaping, describing it as a facility that covered care from treatment planning through the postoperative period.
His professional record also includes a major distinction from 2016, when he was named the best plastic surgeon in Spain. He received the Medical & Corporate Livewire award after an international selection process involving more than 100,000 nominees. At the Quirón hospitals, his departments became known for advanced body-contouring techniques and drew patients from several countries seeking customised treatment.
The Colegio de Médicos de Málaga condemned the killing and sent condolences to those close to Aslani, including people from his professional circle. The institution rejected violence against medical professionals and said it was deeply concerned that a doctor had been killed while working. It also said it trusted the police and judicial authorities to establish what happened.
El Español reported that the medical body called the death an extremely serious event. It stressed that Aslani was killed while performing his professional duties.
Before the arrest, investigators examined several possible motives. Diario Sur reported that police did not rule out a contract killing, including a possible dispute involving a patient. El Español separately reported that investigators were checking whether dissatisfaction with an operation or a demand for a refund had played a role. Neither possibility has been confirmed by police.
The early investigation also found no established link to drug trafficking or organised crime. The arrest adds a suspect to the case, while the motive and the alleged accomplice’s role remain undisclosed. The investigation remains under judicial secrecy.
