The Barcelona Court confirms the trial
The Barcelona Court has confirmed that 46 Spanish police officers will go on trial for the charges that occurred during October 1 in several schools in the Catalan capital, according to a resolution known this Thursday. The court ratifies the decision of the head of the 7th investigative court, Francesc Miralles, who sees sufficient evidence for crimes of injuries and crimes against moral integrity to take the case to trial. However, the Court denies the request for accusations and rules out prosecuting 21 more police officers considering that their intervention is not clear or that it was requested to charge them after the deadline.
The decision of the Barcelona Court
Section 3a of the Barcelona Court discards all the appeals of the police, who affirm that they did not commit any crime or that they are minor crimes prescribed, and maintains: “The circumstantial legal classification that the order grants to the events described goes beyond simple crimes of injury and clearly points out that some behaviors could be included in the crime against moral integrity committed by a public official referred to in article 175 Penal Code.” And he insists that all the actions of the agents, although it was in 27 schools or voting centers, must be judged in the same procedure.
Irídia’s rating
The co-director of Irídia, Anaïs Franquesa, has positively assessed the decision of the Barcelona Court, which she highlighted that “it concludes that the action of the Spanish police was disproportionate and, therefore, criminal.” The lawyer recalled that this investigation “has lasted six and a half years” and that it has been thanks to “the impulse of civil society, since – she added – the Prosecutor’s Office has been passive and defending the actions of the police.” In addition to those affected, the entities Irídia, Òmnium Cultural and the ACN are represented as popular accusations in this procedure.
Next steps
Now, the accusations will have to present their indictments and the prison sentences they request for the agents. In cases of minor crimes, they could be statute-barred, but police officers who are accused of a crime against moral integrity may not. In addition, it will be necessary to see if the agents finally ask to benefit from the Procés amnesty law. For minor crimes they could be accepted.
