The defense of the protesters is studying denouncing the violation of the right to demonstrate on 26-J

PalmaAlerta Solidària is preparing a judicial offensive for the police charges of July 26 during the demonstration against tourist overcrowding. The entity will file lawsuits for the two demonstrators who had to be hospitalized, is working to ensure that none of the complaints are dismissed, and is studying the launch of a new criminal action for an alleged violation of the right to demonstrate.

In an interview with ARA Balears, the spokesperson for Alerta Solidària, Martí Majoral, explains that the lawsuits for the two most serious cases will allow them to appear as accusers, present new evidence during the investigation, intervene in interrogations, and reduce the risk of the cases being prematurely dismissed. Although the entity coordinates the legal strategy, he recalls that each procedure is processed individually.

Majoral points out that, for the moment, the only judicial proceedings open are the complaints that are initiated ex officio from medical reports of injuries. These documents are automatically sent to the courts when they reflect a possible assault, although he regrets that often the proceedings are filed without any investigation being carried out.

To prevent this, Alerta Solidària collects videos, photographs, and testimonies with the aim of identifying the alleged perpetrators of each assault and incorporating this evidence into proceedings. If any of the complaints have already been dismissed, the organization will request that they be reopened when it has new probative elements.

Lawsuits, evidence, and complaints to reopen cases

Meanwhile, the defense is considering filing another legal action based on Article 540 of the Penal Code, considering that the police action could have restricted the right to protest. Beyond the alleged individual injuries, it analyzes whether the events could also constitute a violation of this fundamental right, explains Majoral.

According to the spokesperson, the facts could constitute crimes of injury and against moral integrity, to which the alleged restriction of the right to protest would eventually be added. These actions could lead to economic sanctions, compensation for victims, and professional disqualification penalties, always depending on the judicial assessment.

Regarding the evidence, Majoral assures that they have numerous images and a large number of witnesses, although he acknowledges that not all recordings capture the exact moment of the assaults. The main difficulty, he admits, will be to precisely prove each police action and identify the alleged perpetrators.

In this regard, he regrets that they have not yet been able to identify any of the agents involved. He maintains that the concealment of faces and police identification numbers, in addition to the difficulty of attributing individual responsibilities within the operations, favors impunity. He also criticizes that different governments have not promoted sufficient measures to facilitate the identification of agents when irregular actions are reported.

Regarding the limits of police action, the spokesperson recalls that the use of force is only legitimate if it complies with the principles of opportunity, necessity, and proportionality. In this regard, he argues that hitting a person with a baton who does not represent any threat or who is already leaving the evacuated area would not be compatible with these criteria. He also recalls that police protocols discourage blows above the waist, especially to the head.

The possible responsibility of the commanders

The defense considers that it will also be necessary to analyze the possible responsibility of the police commanders. According to Majoral, it will be necessary to determine who gave the orders, why the passage of the demonstrators was blocked and if there were objective reasons that justified the use of force. If these reasons did not exist, he maintains, it could be an arbitrary action.

Regarding articles 174 and 175 of the Penal Code, relating to crimes against moral integrity committed by public officials, Majoral admits that there is a legal debate about their scope. Although some sectors consider that they could be applied in cases of police abuse, he recognizes that jurisprudence tends to be restrictive and, therefore, Alerta Solidària only considers resorting to them in very specific cases.

The spokesperson also warns that the difficulties in investigating alleged police abuses can have a dissuasive effect on the exercise of the right to demonstrate. Along these lines, he criticizes the effects that, in his opinion, the citizen security law, known as the Gag Law, continues to generate, and regrets that the reforms promised by successive governments have not yet materialized.

Despite the difficulties, Majoral is confident that the legal actions will prosper. He assures that the objective is to obtain a ruling that contributes to clarifying responsibilities for the reported events and serves as a warning against possible police abuses.