Girona court dismisses case against 27 Spanish police officers for referendum baton charges

Girona's Court of Inquiry 2 has dismissed the cases brought against 27 officers from Spain's National Police for baton charges in the northern Catalan city during the 2017 referendum. 

Volunteer lawyers who filed complaints against the police's actions at polling stations in Girona and the nearby villages of Sant Julià de Ramis and Aiguaviva have appealed the decision to Girona's Provincial Court. 

Spokesperson Albert Carreras confirmed they lodged an appeal last week, arguing that, although the Provincial Court limited the charges to minor crimes of injury, the charges have not expired. 

They also disagree with the potential exemption for the officers for acting "in fulfillment of duty." 

According to the Catalan High Court, Girona's Court of Inquiry 2 issued resolutions to dismiss the case more than a month ago. 

It did so at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, after Girona Provincial Court ruled in an interlocutory hearing that the police could only be accused of minor crimes of injury, and arguing that either the prescriptive period to bring charges had expired, or that an exemption could be applied according to the Criminal Code, for acting "in fulfillment of duty." 

The interlocutory hearings were last week, Carreras explained, and Girona Provincial Court will now rule on whether it confirms the decision of the investigating court or accepts the lawyers' appeal. 

In June 2021, the investigating court left 27 National Police officers and one Civil Guard officer involved in the incidents in Girona and Aiguaviva one step away from trial, leaving aside the incidents in Sant Julià de Ramis. 

All cases were dismissed but are subject to the decision of Girona Provincial Court on the appeals. 

Catalonia's independence vote on October 1, 2017, which had been deemed illegal by Spain, was marred by violence, with 1,066 people requiring medical attention as a result of Spanish police charges, according to the Catalan health department.