They ask 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 murder for setting fire to a Barcelona City Police van with an officer inside, who was able to escape in time through the passenger door. It happened 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 for glorifying terrorism and insulting the Crown.

According to the prosecution documents consulted by ARA, the highest penalties 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, 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 were placed in provisional detention when they were arrested, but they are now all at liberty after having posted bail.

The accusations consider them an organized criminal group and believe they followed a plan, with different assigned roles, to achieve a "fast 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 accusations believe 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 failed to identify the woman who allegedly threw flammable liquid onto a flare that was next to the van and which caused it to ignite. 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 her who had sprayed the van with flammable liquid.

Two "leaders"

According to the accusations, two of the accused acted as "leaders," and they are the ones for whom the private prosecution is requesting the highest sentences. 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's filings state that the accused were aware that the officer was inside the van, in front of the Urbana police station on the 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, they are accused of attacking ATMs and shops during the riots, and the accusations attribute to them the crimes of assault on authority, public disorder, damages, illegal demonstration, and the crime of a criminal group. Apart from prison sentences, the public prosecutor's office requests that they be fined 11,520 euros and pay compensation that together totals about 685,000 euros for the banking entities, the Zara on Plaça Catalunya, and the Hotel NH 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.