The Prosecutor's Office has requested to reopen the investigation against three Mossos d'Esquadra agents for their alleged collaboration in Carles Puigdemont's escape from Barcelona in August 2024. The appeal is directed against the dismissal agreed upon by investigating court number 24 of Barcelona on April 27.
The tension of the case lies in the reason for the appeal. The judge closed the case, concluding that no crime had been committed because the agents were on vacation or on leave, but the public prosecutor's office maintains that their status as members of the corps made it impossible for them to be unaware of the arrest warrant against the former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
The Prosecutor's Office limits criminal reproach to the duty to prosecute crime
The prosecutor's appeal does not uphold the entire thesis that the popular prosecutions had put forward. Faced with the requests from Vox and Hazte Oír, the public ministry dismisses the crimes of concealment and disobedience of an order, which would have opened the door to prison sentences.
His approach focuses on another possible infraction. The Prosecutor's Office considers that the three agents could have violated article 408 of the Penal Code, which punishes the omission of the duty to prosecute crimes when it affects authorities or officials.
At that point, the document maintains that the investigated conduct could lead to up to two years of disqualification. It does not propose, on the other hand, prison sentences for the three mossos under investigation.
The judge dismissed the case, finding that they were on leave or on vacation
The investigating court number 24 of Barcelona agreed to the dismissal on April 27. The resolution understood that the commission of any crime by the three agents had not been proven.
Furthermore, the judge gave value to the administrative situation of those investigated on those dates. The order stated that the agents were on vacation or on leave when Puigdemont left Barcelona in August 2024.
Now, the discrepancy between the instructor and the Prosecutor's Office revolves around the scope of that circumstance. For the public ministry, neither the vacation nor the leave eliminated the knowledge of the arrest warrant that was pending against Puigdemont by members of the Mossos d'Esquadra.
The Prosecutor's Office's appeal thus keeps open the discussion on whether that action should be investigated again solely for a possible omission of the duty to prosecute crimes, an offense that Article 408 of the Penal Code punishes with up to two years of disqualification.