The First Section of the Valencia Court has convicted 27 of the 28 accused of attacking and threatening protesters and journalists on ‘October 9’, 2017, “in order to violently and for ideological reasons prevent the normal development of the protest march celebrated on Valencian Community Day by political parties, unions and various entities of the left-wing political spectrum.
According to the TSJ of Valencia in a statement, of these 28 defendants – mostly linked to extreme right groups such as the defunct Peña Yomus, which brings together ultra fans of Valencia CF -, 26 had reached an agreement in accordance with the Prosecutor’s Office, the private accusations and the popular accusation, by which they recognized the facts and accepted the penalties requested for them.
By virtue of these agreements, the Court has imposed sentences of one year and five months in prison on 23 of these prisoners for a crime committed during the exercise of fundamental rights and public freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, with the aggravating circumstance of discrimination. ideological and the mitigating factor of repairing the damage.
He has also sentenced them for each crime of injury committed to the payment of a fine of 232 euros, as well as measures prohibiting them from approaching and communicating with the victims they attacked. The compensation for all the injured parties that they will have to face amounts in total to more than 47,000 euros.
Another defendant from this group accepted a sentence of five months in prison for a crime of threats, a second settled for one year in prison for a crime of coercion and the third did so with the payment of two fines for two crimes of coercion and of threats.
Already in relation to the two people judged who did not agree to the conformity agreements, the Court has imposed two years in prison on one of them for a crime of coercion with the aggravating factor of ideological discrimination and a fine as the author of a crime of threats. , but has acquitted the other due to lack of evidence.
In the case of the acquitted accused, the magistrates understand that it has not been proven that he committed any of the crimes that the accusations attributed to him, since he behaved during the demonstration as “a mere observer and narrator of the events, making comments on what was there.” “It was happening, telling what he saw and responding to the comments that were made to him on the social network where he broadcast.”
The Chamber rules out that his actions “in itself had the capacity to prevent or disturb the legitimate exercise of the freedoms of assembly or demonstration” and points out that there is no evidence that he verbally or physically attacked any protester or that he had any connection with the accused. They did carry out violent acts.
The sentence handed down by the First Section of the Court of Valencia, which consists of 222 pages and has been notified this Friday to the parties, can be appealed before the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community.
