The two major police unions denounce that the amnesty law could leave out some of the accused officers
Police Justice (Jupol) and the Unified Police Union (SUP), the two largest spy organizations, have issued separate statements affirming that the amnesty law that the administration plans to submit to Congress for approval may disregard the measure of mercy leaves a large number of officials indicted for their actions during the clashes during the illegal referendum of October 1, 2017. Currently, 45 police officers are being tried by a court in Barcelona and another 28, including officials from that body and the Civil Guard, on the other hand from Girona. Both unions, which had already publicly spoken out against the amnesty in recent weeks, come to this conclusion after taking into account that Article 2 of the project, which refers to the cases excluded from the pardon, is exactly what it contains The accused members of the security forces will be charged.
The 73 agents are charged with assault, which would be pardonable under the wording of the amnesty law. However, 45 of them – all those indicted by the Catalan capital’s court – are also charged with a second crime, namely attack on moral integrity. This constitutes degrading treatment of another person which seriously undermines their dignity and is punishable by a prison sentence of between six months and two years. Article 2 of the project specifically states that those accused of this crime cannot benefit from the law “as long as they exceed an unspecified minimum level of seriousness”. However, government sources emphasize that the law is designed so that the measure of clemency affects all actors without excluding them.
Nevertheless, the two unions have spoken out against the norm. In his statement, Jupol calls the law “a trap” and concludes that the 45 police officers charged with the crime of violating moral integrity “would be the only ones charged and prosecuted for a crime that that they did not commit,” without going into more detail about what. supports your fears. For this reason, the union affirms that this amnesty law confirms that “the work of the police officers, the injured agents and the three colleagues who were forced into retirement due to their injuries during the riots was useless,” and he adds , that the law was “an absolute contempt” for the 10,000 activists who went to Catalonia in 2017 and 2019 “to comply with a court order and defend the unity of Spain in terrible working conditions.” On September 25, this union had already published a statement in which it sharply attacked the amnesty law, the provisions of which were unknown at the time. In the police council elections last June, Jupol included in its joint list with another union, the Police Union Alternative (ASP), an agent, Samuel Vázquez, who is currently parliamentary adviser to Vox, the party that celebrated a big one Some of the street protests against the pardon measure in recent days have resulted in serious riots on several occasions.
For its part, the SUP shows in its statement its “strongest” rejection of the law and emphasizes that the police did not commit any crimes on those days. “We acted in 2017 within the framework of a judicial mandate, under the protection of the Constitution and the legal framework, which are the only valid parameters that determine police actions,” says the text, which adds: “Those who choose the “Criminals covered in police blood will be remembered as traitors.”