The sentence of the trial for the Valencia metro accident closes 14 years of "ordeal" for the families

Valencia"We are signing the agreement because [the case] must be closed in some way and the agreement reached is still a recognition of responsibility. Six months of trial would have been a torment and, moreover, with a wide margin of uncertainty, because all possibilities were open, from full acquittal to full conviction." This is the justification given to ARA by Enric Chulio, former president of the Association of Victims of the Metro Accident of July 3, 2006, minutes before entering the room where the sentence has been delivered, which has convicted four former directors and acquitted four others. The association has finally joined the agreement signed last week between the Prosecutor's Office and the defense of the eight defendants, allowing a process opened 14 years ago to be concluded.

As Chulio's words, who lost his wife in the accident, suggested, after the trial, which lasted just over half an hour, the resignation and anger of the relatives has resurfaced and upon leaving the hearing, they waited for the eight former executives in the narrow corridor that separates the room where the sentence was delivered from the immense central space of the City of Justice of Valencia to reproach them for their actions. In fact, one of the relatives addressed the former manager of Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana (FGV), Marisa Gracia, who was acquitted, and asked her: "Can you sleep soundly?" The former high-ranking official replied: "Yes, very soundly".

The most belligerent of the relatives has been Julián Pérez, who also lost his wife there and who confronted Gracia. Moments of tension that were repeated twice more. The most notable, shortly before the former high-ranking official left the building, when her husband and Pérez confronted each other and exchanged insults. Already on the street, and cornered by journalists, Gracia reaffirmed her position and, when questioned about whether she recognized any responsibility in the accident, she answered with a resounding "no".

"Inhumane attitude" of former executives

Precisely the refusal of the former executives to apologize is what has most angered the victims' families, who, through their spokesperson, Rosa Garrote, have lamented that the accused "have maintained a very impassive, very inhuman attitude". "It is true that they have admitted their guilt, but it is no less true that they have admitted it due to the possibility of a greater punishment. What would have truly had value is that this recognition had been accompanied by an apology and a few days after the accident".

For Garrote, today's ruling represents a "dignified end". "It is the citizen's triumph. If you fight, if you try, you can do it," he emphasized. However, he acknowledged that the agreement "leaves many things behind" but defended it because it represents "the maximum" that could be achieved: "We have done everything in our power and we have shown that the responsibility lay with the company and the managers".

Political responsibility

Another of the loopholes that, according to Garrote, the sentence leaves is that "political responsibilities have not been assumed". "The fight has been worth it because what couldn't be is that everything remained that the accident was the driver's fault, who is the last link in the chain, and that the executives, the people really in power, got away with it. It has cost us more than thirteen years, it has been a hard road, but today it has been worth it".

Four convicted and four acquitted

Just like the top leader of the public company, the former head of workshops at the València Sud facilities, Luis Miguel Domingo Alepuz; the former head of line 1, Sebastián Argente; and the former head of studies and projects, Francisco Orts, have also been acquitted. On the other hand, the former director of operations, Manuel Sansano; the former director of the audit for security and circulation, Juan José Gimeno; the former deputy director of operations, Vicente Contreras; and the former technical director, Francisco García, have been convicted.

According to the facts that have been declared proven, the four former executives knew "the security deficiencies in the underground section of this line, especially between the sections of [the stations of] Plaça d'Espanya and Jesús station". Despite this, they "omitted" their obligation to implement technological security measures to control the speed on this line and "neutralize" the risks of derailment and overturning of trains, as well as to resolve other deficiencies related to "rolling stock" and the "training and selection of personnel for the job of train driver". "All of them were aware that these deficiencies posed a very significant risk to the safety of workers and passengers", the sentence concluded.