Justice orders investigation into the pepper spray action by the Mossos in a pro-Palestine protest

BarcelonaFinally, justice will investigate the use of OC spray – popularly known as pepper spray – against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Specifically, the actions of the Mossos d'Esquadra during the general strike on October 15 against a group of people sitting near Sants station, where a protest was beginning at that moment. The demonstrators wanted to stop the departure of a bus carrying the Hapoel Jerusalem team to Manresa to play a basketball game. The Barcelona judge who received the case did not admit the complaint from six demonstrators against agents and police commanders, but now the Barcelona Court of Appeal corrects this decision and orders the first judge to investigate the case. The court anticipates that the actions of the Mossos "could be understood as disproportionate".

The magistrates recall that there are indications that the complainants "suffered injuries as a consequence of the police action", mainly skin rashes, eye and respiratory problems, and in some cases also vomiting. In fact, in the order, they refer to pepper spray as a "dangerous instrument" according to the report that the police sent to Parliament. They consider that the police action could be "disproportionate" given that "the peaceful nature of the protest made the method" they used to disperse the demonstrators unnecessary or harmful. Therefore, the court accepts the complainants' appeal and orders a judicial investigation to clarify whether the agents involved committed a crime against moral integrity.

When in December the investigating court 6 did not admit the complaint, it justified that there was no indication of a crime "attributable to specific agents", and added that the recordings of the action showed that the Mossos had intervened "within the normal and usual limits of public order control". Nor did it see any "direct causal relationship between each injury and the action of a specific agent", and described the complaint as making only "generic allegations" without evidence to prove any crime.

On the other hand, the Court now dismisses these as generic accusations. The magistrates consider that the complainants' appeal has provided sufficient information to specify which agents were involved, and adds that the videos from that day do allow for "clear identification" of the police officers.