First agents who ask to be amnesty
There are already the first Spanish police officers who assaulted voters on October 1 who are asking for amnesty, despite the fact that the unions denied that they would do so. 9 of the 51 agents prosecuted for hitting and harassing voters in Barcelona centers have asked to be amnestied in court this Wednesday, the day after the amnesty law for the process came into force. The head of the court of inquiry 7 of Barcelona, Francesc Miralles, is the one who will have to decide whether to apply the rule of criminal oblivion of the process to the agents, whose defense insists that they did not commit any crime. The majority of requests for amnesty are from politicians and pro-independence activists, who have already asked different courts and tribunals that their criminal and accounting prosecution be shelved, just hours after the rule was published in the BOE.
Decision of magistrate Francesc Miralles
Magistrate Francesc Miralles left the 51 police officers in two cases one step away from trial: in the first there are 46 officers investigated for assaulting citizens in twenty schools, and which includes these 9 officers who are asking for amnesty , and in the second there are 4 agents accused of having blown out Roger Español’s right eye with a rubber ball, and a fifth for hitting voters at the Ramon Llull school. This case is in section 2a of the Barcelona Court, which will decide if the amnesty applies. For now, the Prosecutor’s Office has already asked the court that the agents should not be tried because they “did their duty”, but that Español should be tried for throwing a fence at them. Irídia, who brings the accusation of citizens and also the popular accusation, has already expressed that it is not possible to amnesty the policemen of 1-O.
Centers where the agents acted
The 9 Spanish police officers, who are now asking for the termination of criminal responsibility, acted in six centers: 4 at the IES Pau Claris, one at the Prosperitat school, one at the CEIP Àgora, one at the school Dolors Monserdà, one at Infant Jesús school, one at Mediterrània school. In the latter school, the magistrate Miralles, who detailed the police actions center by center, certified that “there were numerous injuries” due to the violent action of the officers and even that they were hit on the head with batons.
Argument of the lawyer of the policemen
In the brief presented to the court, the lawyer for the police, Javier Aranda, maintains that the officers must be amnestied because their action was legal and none of them caused “acts of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment”. action that the amnesty law excludes in order to obtain the filing of a criminal case. The lawyer argues that there is no impediment for them to be amnestied and that the popular accusations cannot oppose this decision.
Reactions and resources
The popular accusations of Irídia, Òmnium Cultural and the ANC will present resources against the amnesty of the agents. The Barcelona Court will have to resolve these appeals and make a final decision on the amnesty. Irídia, who brings the accusation of citizens and also the popular accusation, has already expressed that it is not possible to amnesty the policemen of 1-O.
No crime or degrading act
The lawyer for the police officers argues that their action did not cause any crime or degrading act, and that there is no legal impediment for them to be granted amnesty. According to the lawyer, the amnesty law excludes acts of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, and the officers did not commit any of these acts. Popular accusations may oppose the amnesty, but the lawyer maintains that they have no legal basis to do so.
