What is Jorge Campos' honor worth? Fifteen years of lawsuits for a political construction

PalmaWhen Baltasar Picornell received a call from the court to inform him that he had to testify as an investigated party following a lawsuit filed by Jorge Campos, the former President of the Parliament became the latest name on a long list of individuals, groups, and political adversaries who, over the past fifteen years, have ended up in court after a conflict with the Vox leader.

The lawsuit against Picornell, filed after several social media posts related to a graffiti that read "J. Campos, puta nazi," is just the most recent episode in a career marked by a constant use of the judicial route in the face of political, ideological, and personal disputes.

For Picornell's lawyer and professor of the Master's in Advocacy at the University of Barcelona, Josep Rosell, this accumulation of proceedings is not accidental. The lawyer believes there is a pattern that goes beyond each specific case.

Attacking dissent

Jorge Campos's relationship with the courts dates back practically to his years at the head of Círculo Balear. Between 2009 and 2014, he sued an internet user for critical comments published on a forum after he himself had linked sectors of Catalan nationalism with ETA.

The forum user criticized, in response to the comparison by the president of Círculo Balear, that “a country occupied by these rats must still suffer this cynicism". "I suppose this rat, when they killed the two civil guards, had to take the cava out of the fridge and say: 'Now I have more arguments'," he added. The proceedings ended with the acquittal of the accused, as it could not be proven that he was the author of the messages. The judicial resolution, moreover, included particularly severe observations towards previous public statements by Campos, which the judge considered potentially injurious towards Catalan nationalism.

Shortly after, one of the cases with the greatest media impact of the first stage of his public activity would arrive. In 2010, he sued eleven militants from Maulets for alleged insults and threats during a protest in Palma. His accusation included requests for fines and restraining orders. The final outcome was a combination of acquittals and minor convictions.

During those same years, there were also several complaints related to graffiti, material damage, and protest actions against the headquarters of Círculo Balear and against Campos himself. Over the years, the lawsuits and complaints were not limited to independence movements or social activism. In 2018, Campos sued Arran after a symbolic action in which the youth organization staged his hanging. The complaint alleged presumed threats, insults, and incitement to hatred.

In parallel, he also resorted to the courts in internal disputes within the political space of the Spanish far-right. One of the first documented examples is the conciliation claim filed against Santiago Galán, linked to critical sectors of Vox Balears, for alleged insults and slander.

Internal conflict reached a new dimension in February 2024, when Campos filed a lawsuit in the Palma courts following the dissemination of an internal document attributed to the president of Vox Balears, Patricia de las Heras. The text contained very serious accusations against the current Vox deputy, such as alleged irregularities during his time leading the party in the Balearic Islands, supposed misappropriation of funds, and internal espionage practices.

Although the document appeared to be signed by De las Heras, Campos directed the lawsuit against the alleged authors and disseminators of the text and requested the court to investigate who was truly responsible.

The Vox leader denied having written the document and the case did not proceed further. The events occurred at a time of strong internal tensions within the far-right party in the Balearic Islands and highlighted the extent to which the judicial battle was also part of the disputes for organic control of the party.

The trend continued during that same year with one of the most media-covered judicial confrontations involving Campos: the lawsuit against Alvise Pérez for alleged hate crimes, disclosure of secrets, defamation, and violation of the right to honor following various publications about his private life and his family.

The Valtònyc case, the bloodiest

None of the procedures initiated by Campos, however, has had an impact comparable to that of the Valtònyc case. The complaint filed in 2012 against the Majorcan rapper for the lyrics of several songs ended up becoming one of the best-known judicial cases in recent years in Spain. The Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of three and a half years in prison for glorification of terrorism, threats and insults to the Crown, a decision that ended up causing the musician's exile when he was only 23 years old, in Belgium, to avoid entering prison.

Campos not only initiated the initial complaint when he presided over Círculo Balear, but he also subsequently promoted new legal actions related to statements made during the singer's concerts. The judicial process led to an avalanche of demonstrations and protests throughout Mallorca during the years the case against the rapper lasted.

Defend oneself with criminal law 

If there is one element that connects a good part of the proceedings initiated by Jorge Campos, it is the defense of honor, personal reputation, and the denunciation of alleged defamation, many of which have resulted in fines and acquittals.

This strategy is precisely what Picornell's defense questions. "The use of criminal law must be exceptional. We are talking about the most forceful tool available to the State, the one that can end up involving prison sentences. It cannot become a usual response to any political criticism or any expression that someone considers offensive," argues the lawyer.

The lawyer recalls that Spanish and European jurisprudence establishes very broad standards for the protection of freedom of expression when statements affect public officials or people with political projection. "Politicians must accept a much higher level of criticism than a private citizen," he maintains.

For his part, the professor of Constitutional Law, Sebastià Rubí, points out that, although Campos has the right to go to court for what he considers a violation of rights, he believes it would not be entirely lawful, since if all citizens did the same, the courts would have to close due to lack of capacity. Likewise, he agrees that it is a form of intimidation, because if not, there are other mechanisms to avoid this point of "confrontation with his enemies".

Permanent confrontation

The lawsuit against Picornell also comes after Campos himself publicly announced the possibility of expanding legal actions against other political leaders such as the MÉS per Mallorca senator, Vicenç Vidal, and the deputy of the same party, Lluís Apesteguia.

In perspective, the trend shows a pattern that runs through the entire public career of the Vox leader. Pro-independence activists, youth organizations, singers, left-wing militants, internal critics of his party, political adversaries, and even media figures from the orbit of the Spanish far-right have ended up in court at some point as a result of legal actions initiated by him.

"The question is whether these actions respond exclusively to the legitimate defense of honor and personal rights or if they are also part of a political strategy based on the judicialization of public conflict," points out the lawyer for Campos's latest victim. "That someone didn't like what was published is one thing. That this is attempted to be turned into a criminal proceeding is quite another," argues Rosell. For the lawyer, criminal law should not be used to resolve conflicts arising from political criticism. "We are talking about the State's most forceful tool. Criminal law is what allows for prison sentences to be sought against a person. It cannot be activated every time someone feels offended," he says.

In his opinion, the case fits into an increasingly common dynamic of using the courts to pursue or wear down political adversaries. "Lawfare consists of using legal instruments to attack political dissent. And it is not necessary for the lawsuit to have traction or chances of success. Many times the objective is the process itself: to generate fear, wear and tear, economic costs, and self-censorship," he points out. Despite everything, Rosell is convinced that the case against the former President of the Parliament Balti Picornell will end up being dismissed once the Prosecutor's Office analyzes its content.