A judge investigates the Government delegate in Madrid for the use of tear gas in the Ferraz protests

The head of the Court of Instruction Number 49 of Madrid, Josefa Bustos Manjón, has opened preliminary proceedings for an alleged crime of prevarication against the Government delegate in Madrid and the police commanders who on November 6 carried out the orders to charge by launching gases tear gas against protesters near Ferraz Street, federal headquarters of the PSOE, called to protest against the imminent inauguration of Pedro Sánchez and the processing of the amnesty law.

The judge thus hears the complaint filed by the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory Raíces, which points against the government delegate and the police commanders who “executed the orders issued to repress the protests called on the evening of Monday, November 6 (… .) at the PSOE headquarters in Madrid.” According to the text of the complaint, to which EL PAÍS has had access and which is accompanied by recordings of the protests, that day “from 8 p.m. onwards, the police charged against the people gathered there, even using gas. tear gas to disperse the crowd of people who showed their disagreement with the words spoken by the acting President of the Government.”

In the order, to which this newspaper has had access, the judge agrees to open preliminary proceedings to determine the nature and circumstances of that event and specify “the people who participated in it” and is directed against the Government delegate, Francisco Martín Aguirre and against the police commanders who executed the orders, as well as “other people who are criminally responsible for the events.” The head of the court has transferred the complaint to the Prosecutor's Office to report on its admission.

The judge opened proceedings only for an alleged crime of prevarication, one of the four alleged in the complaint, which also charged those accused with a crime of illegitimate dissolution of a peaceful assembly, injuries, and torture and against moral integrity.

The complaining association is contrary to the Democratic Memory Law. He opposed the withdrawal of the gold medal for merit to work awarded to the dictator Francisco Franco that was announced by the second vice president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, in July 2023. The same entity also asked to withdraw the name of Dolores Ibárruri, Passionflowerfrom the street map of Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz).

The protest on November 6, with 3,800 attendees according to the Government Delegation, was one of the largest recorded since at the beginning of that month and until now, with decreasing attendance, they have been held near the federal headquarters of the PSOE in Madrid. The demonstration that night, in which some of the protesters threw flares and firecrackers, resulted in three arrests, two men for disobedience and attack against authority, and a woman for this second crime. A day later, on November 7, the party decided to close its offices throughout Spain due to the call for new rallies “for security” and due to the “violent aspect” that the one the day before had acquired.

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