The Barraquer case ends with a fine of 3,000 euros: "They evicted a woman with children and we were the violent ones"

PalmDozens of people gathered this Tuesday outside the courthouse on Vía de Alemania in Palma to show their support for those facing charges for trying to stop the eviction of a family with children in 2022. The legal proceedings, known as the Barraquer case, were resolved with a plea agreement that avoided a trial. The charge was resisting authority. The demonstration was organized by the Palma Housing Union (SHP), whose members displayed a banner with the slogan "Repression will only make us stronger" and chanted slogans such as "No people without homes, no homes without people."

Union spokesperson Miquel Durán explained that the events date back to an eviction in 2022, in which one person was arrested and eight others were charged with alleged crimes of assaulting law enforcement officers and injuring Palma Local Police officers. Initially, the Public Prosecutor's Office was seeking sentences exceeding ten years in prison and a combined fine of around €15,000. Finally, this Tuesday, the parties reached an agreement that reduces the charge to resisting authority. According to Durán, this was accepted due to what they considered an "excessive sentence" and an "aberrant" criminal process. "We believe that resisting should not be a crime, especially when it involves preventing a family in a vulnerable situation from becoming homeless," he emphasized. They deny the assaults and denounce police violence.

The activists facing charges consider the initial charges "incongruous." They deny having committed crimes of assaulting a police officer and causing bodily harm, and deny having attacked any officer. "They evicted a woman with children in her care, and it turns out we were the violent ones," they denounced.

As they explained to ARA Baleares, the physical contact occurred when the police "began violently removing the protesters from the doorway," who—they claim—were exercising their right to protest through passive resistance. "There was no attack on the police; we were the ones attacked and harmed," they maintain. They also question why no arrests were made at the time of the events and why the police report was written afterward.

An eviction with children and no alternative

According to the group, the case stems from an eviction affecting a woman with several dependent children, the sister of a victim of gender-based violence. It was the third attempt to evict her from a property owned by a bank. The family had tried to access social housing through the Palma Anti-Eviction Office, but without success or alternative accommodation. On the day of the eviction, in early November 2022, several activists gathered in front of the house to prevent it. Durán stated that, upon the arrival of the local police, the officers—who outnumbered the activists—removed them from the door by grabbing them by the neck and twisting their fingers, actions she considers "completely unnecessary." The defendants agree that the use of force was disproportionate and interpret the intervention as a repressive action intended to discourage protest. The eviction dragged on for hours, and the woman inside the house suffered an anxiety attack, requiring her to be taken to a medical center, while the children remained inside. According to the union, the court officials warned the children that, in the event of eviction, they would be separated and sent to different centers, an action they describe as "psychological torture." Finally, the children left the home after an operation that lasted eight hours. The defendants believe this case is not isolated, but rather reflects a structural housing problem in Mallorca, and they are calling for collective organization to address it.