The judge suspends the Roger Español case trial because an accused agent says he is in the hospital

BarcelonaJudicial timing had determined that the final session of the trial against the national police officers who destroyed the eye of the activist Roger Español would be held on October 1st, nine years after the day of the referendum in which the pro-independence activist was mutilated. This Thursday, however, there was a final plot twist: the session was suspended because Inspector Ángel Diego Vaquera Alonso –number 73861– claimed to have suffered "a health problem" that "forced him to move to a hospital center where he is undergoing tests," according to his defense. The judge suspended the trial until one in the afternoon and demanded "proof" from the defense. The magistrate also declared his intention to resume the session this same Thursday, even if it were in the afternoon, "if the officer were able to." However, he rejected the request of the private prosecution to issue a search and arrest warrant and immediately detain the inspector, for whom they are requesting 13 years in prison.

This Thursday's session began more than half an hour late with respect to the scheduled time and without Español's prosecution knowing why. The delay was caused precisely by the inspector's no-show, but the activist's lawyers were unaware of it, something the judge himself reprimanded the State Attorney's Office for, which is in the eye of the hurricane of criticism. Lawyer Benet Salellas was forceful: "No one communicated this circumstance to us, in procedural courtesy it is amendable," he began by saying. And he made a direct request: "Given the non-appearance of an accused for whom we are requesting 13 years in prison, we must request an immediate search and arrest warrant, we must request a detention order because this would be a case of non-appearance," he stated, and also demanded to "bring him by force."

The judge was understanding of their words, which, de facto, ended up pointing at the State Attorney's Office for not having communicated anything to the prosecution: "He understands and shares them, the court has delayed it because it knew the circumstance," he said. In any case, he pointed out that "there is no reason to doubt the information that has been conveyed to him about the inspector's health problems," although he warned that he requires "documentary evidence to assess the circumstance of the impossibility of attending the plenary session." This medical proof should be delivered before one o'clock. Then the court "will agree whether the session is held today at some point in the afternoon" or if it is postponed, while waiting to analyze everything. However, the magistrate has refused to adopt "any measure" of search and arrest because "there is no reason," he said, to distrust them for now, given that "the desire to testify" of the accused has been conveyed to him.

Controversial statement

It should be remembered that this Thursday the accused national police officers were scheduled to testify, and for this reason, the State Attorney's Office has argued, despite having no documentary support for the hospital admission, that the "sudden medical cause" has caused an absence that "would make the resumption of the trial unfeasible." Among the accused are the inspector in question, who is the head of the unit, the sub-inspector, another sub-inspector from the area, and the riot gunner who fired at Roger Español.

In this Wednesday's session, the expert testimony from the Mossos also clarified that the riot gunner is the one who fired at Español. For the first time, it was established, without any of the parties questioning it. The Mossos confirmed that this riot gunner used the weapon in the direction of the area where Roger was up to three times. The weapons experts from Omega explained that the way of firing could cause the ricochet to go high and reach such delicate areas as the head.

It is true, however, that the Mossos reported that the Spanish police officer did not point directly at Roger Español, but for Irídia and the activist's defense, this circumstance and the ricochet effect of the projectile do not prevent the confirmation of the brutality in the actions on that October 1st. This is the only case of police violence during the referendum that is being tried without the amnesty having been applied to the officers due to the gravity of the events. 97% of the police officers have received the grace of the penal oblivion law of the 'Procés'.