They are asking for up to 27 years in prison for those accused of attempting to kill a police officer by burning a van

BarcelonaNine people face sentences of up to 27 and a half years in prison, accused of attempted homicide for setting fire to a Barcelona City Guard van with an officer inside, who was able to get out in time through the passenger door. It was on February 27, 2021, during the protests over the imprisonment of rapper Pablo Hasél, who had entered prison on the 16th of the same month for a conviction of glorification of terrorism and insults to the Crown.

According to the indictment documents consulted by ARA, the highest sentences are requested by the affected officer (27 and a half years in prison for two of the defendants and 25 and a half for the others), while the private prosecution of the Barcelona City Council requests 23 years and 10 months in prison for all of them, and the Public Prosecutor's Office 25 and a half. Seven of the defendants are Italian, and a French woman and a Catalan woman will also sit in the dock. All of them entered provisional prison when they were arrested, but now all are at liberty after having posted bail.

The prosecution considers them an organized criminal group and believes they were following a plan, with different assigned roles, to achieve a "quick and synchronized" action in different "violent and intimidating acts that would instill grave fear in the population," according to the Prosecutor's document. In fact, the prosecution believes that the defendants were part of a larger group, with about fifteen people in total, but the rest have not been identified.

The investigation has also not identified the woman who allegedly threw flammable liquid onto a flare that was next to the van and caused it to catch fire. In fact, of all the defendants, the first to be released from prison was a woman after images of the moment proved that it was not she who had sprayed the van with flammable liquid.

Two "leaders"

According to the accusations, two of the defendants acted as "leaders," and they are the ones for whom the private prosecution is seeking the highest penalties. The two of them allegedly set the targets – ATMs, shops, police vehicles – and gave instructions to the others, in addition to also participating in the destruction. The prosecution documents state that the defendants were aware that the officer was inside the van, in front of the Urbana police station on La Rambla. "They threw a shower of blunt objects and incendiary devices," says the document from the private prosecution representing the police officer.

In addition to the attempted murder of the officer, the Public Prosecutor's Office accuses them of attacking ATMs and shops during the riots, and attributes to them the crimes of assault on authority, public disorder, criminal damage, illegal demonstration, and a crime of criminal group membership. Apart from the prison sentences, the public prosecution requests that they be fined 11,520 euros and pay compensation that together totals about 685,000 euros to the banking entities, the Zara in Plaça Catalunya, and the NH Hotel on Rambla Catalunya. The City Council is claiming 10,400 euros for damage to street furniture and additional waste management, and the officer is also claiming 6,000 euros for moral and psychological damages.