A procedural error denies the right to justice of Silvia, the woman assaulted by the Ertzaintza in police station
- Silvia, a migrated and racialized woman, was assaulted in May 2018 at the Ertzaintza police station in Getxo, after being unjustly arrested. The trial imposed a mild penalty on an ertzaina, but the woman was also convicted of a crime of disobedience. Silvia wanted to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, but the case was closed because he "forgot" to file an appeal against the Generalitat prosecutor.
Although the police violence suffered by Silvia was documented with videos and, despite the six years of judicial struggle, SOS Racism has denounced that the system has reactivated mechanisms to silence the victim.
The prosecutor ' s intention was to go to the Supreme Court in the necessary appeal, without which he has been denied the continuation of the judicial process. The case has been closed and judicial review will not be possible. To denounce the situation, SOS Racism Bizkaia and Silvia are not alone have concentrated this Monday in front of the Palace of Justice of the Basque capital to denounce the situation.
The origin of the event dates back to May 26, 2018 in Getxo, when Silvia accuses the police of the treatment being given to a homeless person. After a brief discussion, the police arrested the woman and transferred her to the police station, where she was arrested. Silvia was attacked by the Ertzaintza on site, as you can see from the videos recorded by the security cameras.
It is high time the Silvia case was known and the Basque Government abandoned the accusation against Silvia! pic.twitter.com/G1GTLB3e7h
— SOS Racism Bizkaia (@sosracismobiz) February 9, 2022
Victim guilty
The trial was held in November 2023. While the Basque Government had placed an attorney on the aggressor agent, Silvia was defended by a lawyer of his own office, who denied him the indictment. Moreover, as a result of a complaint lodged by the aggressor himself, the woman was sentenced to seven years ' imprisonment for a murder offence.
In a communiqué, agents SOS Racism and Silvia are not alone in Bizkaia have pointed out that police investigation and the Department of Security have revealed "disturbing patterns" such as the concealment of videos, the non-submission of photographs of Silvia's injuries, the non-application of the Torture Protocol in Istanbul or the rejection of psychological reports, among others. The ruling states that the woman was detained without any legal justification by the agents of the Ertzaintza. Finally, the Audience of Bizkaia found guilty of a crime against moral integrity and of minor injuries to the aggressor, who was sentenced in a light manner. At the same time, Silvia was found guilty of disobedience to the authority, to which an economic fine was imposed.
This year, Silvia intended to appeal to the Supreme Court to declare his innocence and to allow the agent to be sentenced to a more severe penalty. It will not be possible, however, because the prosecutor has not submitted the appeal in time. "Now, six years later, when Silvia tried to appeal to the Supreme Court the accusation of unjust disobedience, with an “unforeseen forgetfulness” hard to believe: the public prosecutor has not filed a complaint. What a coincidence! Confused, suspicious and dissuasive events again took place.
The collective "Silvia are not alone" and SOS Racism have strongly criticized that this case is another example of the structural violence of the justice system against migrated and racialized women.
"How can a procedural error, in this case the failure to file an appeal, prevent a documented police abuse from being reviewed?" It asks the collective.
To Rosa, yes, because that's what home and friends said. On 30 June she will be 29 years old as a result of an infection caused by a pelotazo released 7-8 meters by the Ertzainas. This was evident at the hearing or working session held on 26 January 2023 before the Police Victim... [+]
Vitoria, 31 March 1937. The Spanish fascists have brought out sixteen political prisoners bound in the hands of a city prison. He gets into the truck, takes him to the port of Azazazaceta and is shot there with total impunity. In Vitoria the parties have not protested because... [+]
