The Government condemns the aggression against a minor for carrying an estelada

BarcelonaUntil this Tuesday, and because he was asked by the press, the Government had not commented on the police aggression against a Catalan minor who was carrying an estelada last Sunday evening, before the match between Elche and Barça. "From the Government we condemn the use of this violence, in light of the images we have all seen, of the aggression against this young man," said the executive's spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, this Tuesday at the press conference after the executive council. Thus, Salvador Illa's government has regretted this police action and has emphasized the need for it to be investigated.

The teenager was brutally beaten by agents of the National Police after the force carried out a massive, forceful confiscation of estelada flags. He was even detained and subsequently released, despite the clarity of the images that show the gratuitous violence he suffered, even when he was handcuffed. In this regard, Futbol Club Barcelona has offered to take charge of the case against the police action legally and has strongly condemned the events. The silence of the Catalan executive until this Tuesday had contrasted not only with the Barça club, but also politically, as complaints had proliferated from all pro-independence parties and Comuns, as well as from the fan groups. Critical of the head of Government's attitude, former President of the Generalitat Carles Puigdemont has again attacked President Salvador Illa this Tuesday: "Why are you silent? Where are you hiding, 'government for everyone'? Your indifference to the criminal abuses of the Spanish police makes you unworthy," he snapped.

Paneque was asked about this nearly two-day silence and evaded the question despite opposition criticism: "We hope today's statements will give them more peace of mind," she said. At the same time, the spokesperson explained that "the Government, through the government delegation" of Spain in Catalonia, was informed that "an information process had been opened to analyze the facts," meaning an internal investigation within the National Police. On the other hand, she added that the government delegation of the Valencian Community informed them that "there was no order to confiscate flags and if someone ordered it on their own, it must be investigated." "The only prohibited items at a sporting event are flags with direct incitement to hatred, which is not the case with esteladas," she stated.

The minister also asserted that she is not aware of the Government having contacted the victim, although she stressed that they have "all the mechanisms to file a lawsuit or complaint if they consider it so". Until now, before the press conference, this right had not been exercised by the affected party, as she recalled.

Offensive

This Monday, the delegate of the Spanish government in Catalonia, also a socialist, Carlos Prieto, had already made a move. He spoke with the delegate in the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, and they made public that an internal investigation had been opened in the police force due to the controversial action. However, the highest Catalan authority who reacted on Monday was the President of the Parliament, the Junts member Josep Rull, who sent a letter to the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska: he sent him a letter asking for explanations regarding a completely "disproportionate" violence.

Junts also registered an extensive battery of questions in Congress about the legal basis for the removal of esteladas and requested disciplinary measures if a disproportionate use of force is confirmed. In parallel, ERC submitted a request for the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, to appear in Congress. And in the judicial arena, the pro-independence group Acció Cassandra announced the filing of a complaint in the Elche District Court.