The head of the Civil Guard in the Balearic Islands who backs the Santa Maria detentions was investigated in a case of torture in the Basque Country

PalmaThe general of the Civil Guard of the Balearic Islands, Alejandro Hernández Mosquera, who has defended the arrests of the two young women from Santa Maria, was investigated in the case of the torture reported by Kepa Urra during his stay at the Intxaurrondo barracks between 1990 and 1993.

Last week, Hernández rejected any criticism of the operation developed by the Pont d'Inca barracks and assured that there was no "disproportionality of any kind" in the arrests or in the fact that the two young women were transferred handcuffed. He also justified the accusation of criminal organization by arguing that it conforms to the definition provided for in the Penal Code when more than two concerted persons are involved.

The investigation and the sentence of the Kepa Urra case

The general's career has a controversial episode from his early years as a Civil Guard officer. In 1992, when he was a lieutenant stationed in the Basque Country, he was investigated in the judicial proceedings opened following the torture complaint filed by Kepa Urra after his arrest.

The investigation focused, among other aspects, on an episode that occurred at Basurto Hospital, where a nurse stated she heard cries for help and saw Urra with injuries after the presence of two officers in the room. Hernández Mosquera denied any aggression and the Provincial Court of Biscay acquitted him, considering that there were not enough elements to prove his participation in these events.

In the same proceedings in which the current colonel of the Balearic Islands was investigated, José María de las Cuevas Carretero, Manuel Sánchez Corbí and Antonio Lozano García were convicted of a crime of torture. The Court considered it proven that they had transferred Kepa Urra to an open field before arriving at the La Salve barracks, where they stripped him, beat him and dragged him in order to obtain a confession.

For their part, the same sentence acquitted Arturo Prieto Bozec, Diego Pérez de los Cobos Orihuel and Alejandro Hernández Mosquera. The Provincial Court of Biscay considered that there was a "serious and reasonable doubt" about the participation of Hernández Mosquera and Pérez de los Cobos in the mistreatment reported at the Basurto Hospital, thus maintaining their presumption of innocence.

The subsequent institutional career of Hernández Mosquera

After the Kepa Urra case, Hernández Mosquera was not removed from the Guardia Civil's Information Service. On the contrary, he continued to hold increasing responsibilities within this area, such as the Head of Information, the post of anti-terrorist liaison officer in France, and subsequently, the direction of Security for the Presidency of the Government, which shows that his career continued normally within the structure of the Guardia Civil.

Between 2012 and 2018, he held the position of Director of the Security Department of the Presidency of the Government during the term of Mariano Rajoy. After the motion of no confidence that brought Pedro Sánchez to La Moncloa, he was removed from his post as part of the renewal of senior trust officials of the Presidency. The dismissal was formalized in the BOE without any disciplinary reason or link to judicial proceedings being alleged.

Hernández Mosquera's promotion within the Civil Guard has continued after his acquittal in that proceeding linked to the events experienced in Intxaurrondo. The Council of Ministers approved his promotion to brigadier general of the Civil Guard last May. Hernández, at the head of the Command of the Balearic Islands since 2019, thus adds another recognition in his career marked by responsibilities in the Information Service, counter-terrorism cooperation, and the security services of the Spanish state.

The statements that support the arrests of Santa Maria

The colonel's statements about the Santa Maria investigation have reopened the debate on the proportionality of the police operation. The action included home searches, the arrest of two activists initially accused of property damage and criminal organization offenses, as well as their transfer in handcuffs.

Both human rights entities and social organizations and jurists have questioned the police response and the criminal classification of the events, while the Guardia Civil maintains that all proceedings were in accordance with the law. The case continues to generate political and social debate in the Islands, especially after Hernández himself has publicly claimed the investigation and stated that his agents will continue to act with the same criteria in the face of any act they deem criminal.

The police abuses reported during the arrests of the young women from Santa Maria, in the context of the graffiti against the mass tourism model, as well as the police charges that occurred last Sunday at the end of a demonstration that had so far proceeded peacefully and in large numbers, once again place the debate on the limits of police action in the face of citizen protest. Episodes that, according to the organizations and groups that have denounced these actions, generate a climate of insecurity and vulnerability for people who exercise their right to protest and participate in social debate.