Two National Police officers on trial following a dispute over linguistic discrimination

BarcelonaTwo National Police officers will stand trial accused of falsifying a public document. The officers reported and fined a woman from Terrassa for allegedly refusing to identify herself, which the prosecution claims is untrue. The Terrassa Court of Instruction Number 4 has decided to send them to trial after three years of litigation. Prosecutors are seeking four years in prison for each officer, a four-year ban from working in public administration, and a fine.

The conflict stems from a dispute over linguistic discrimination in 2022. The woman, a teacher from Terrassa, went to renew her national identity card (DNI) and, when she tried to re-enter the police station after making a photocopy, an officer forced her to speak Spanish before allowing her to re-enter. When the woman confronted him about the discrimination and translated the time, "ten thirty-six," in Catalan, Spanish, Arabic, and French, the police officer at the door replied in a patronizing tone, "It's very easy." During the confrontation, they told her to "speak Spanish because we're in Spain" and explained that they didn't have to understand Catalan.

When, upon leaving, the woman remarked to the two officers that, as civil servants, it would be good if they learned Catalan and other languages, one of the officers told her he would arrest her for "disrespecting a police officer." Since the woman continued walking, not understanding that it was an order against her, they intercepted her and, after a verbal altercation, took her into the police station. According to the gag lawShe was fined €100 for disrespecting the officers and €601 for refusing to identify herself, something the woman claims she was never asked to do. The Plataforma per la Llengua (Platform for the Language) filed a complaint against the officers for coercion, falsification of a public document, illegal detention, and offenses against moral integrity. The court continued proceedings for two of the offenses. The Provincial Court of Barcelona allowed the teacher to join the case as a private prosecutor, as she had previously only been a witness. The Plataforma promoted a motion of support for the teacher in the Terrassa plenary session and held several demonstrations against linguistic discrimination.