The courts of Almería have acquitted 28 Greenpeace activists on Tuesday morning, accused of graffiti on the façade of the El Algarrobico hotel, on the coast of the Cabo de Gata natural park. The building, owned by the Azata del Sol group, was covered in huge black graffiti in May 2014 with the words “Illegal hotel”. The lawsuit requested a penalty of 1,080 euros for each of the accused and compensation of 186,703 euros in civil liability for the damage caused to the building. However, the prosecution has argued that it has not been possible to identify the people who painted the graffiti.
Eva Saldaña, director of Greenpeace Spain, welcomed the court’s decision in a statement in which she said that those responsible for the hotel “should pay for the damage and restore the ecosystem.” Exercising the right to protest against “attacks on the territory” is an essential tool to bring about change, said Saldaña. The organization stressed that the resolution adds to the more than forty resolutions that have ruled in its favor regarding the illegality of the hotel.
The activists denied their involvement in the graffiti throughout the trial. They claimed that they had only gone to the beach to protest against the construction of the building. The court explained that there was not enough evidence to prove that they were the perpetrators of the crime. The ruling states in its grounds that the testimonies of the security agents who intervened do not match, neither in the account nor in the number of people who were found inside the building.
The court is waiting to see if the group lodges an appeal against the ruling. If not, the environmental organisation has stated, another chapter in the fight for the demolition of the building will be closed. Since the association Save Mojácar filed a lawsuit against the construction of the hotel in 2006, El Algarrobico has become a symbol for the protection of the Mediterranean coast. The hotel, however, has been standing for two decades.
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