Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

HELP SERVICE FOR VICTIMS OF POLICE BRUTALITY ON 1 OCTOBER

FINAL REPORT BC N

October 2017

Oficina per la No Discriminació Carrer Ferran, 32 08002 Barcelona T: 934 130 000 barcelona.cat/oficina-no-discriminacio Direcció de serveis de drets de ciutadania i diversitat

Ajuntament de Barcelona

October 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ANTECEDENTS AND JUSTIFICATION 4

2. OBJECTIVES 5

3. SERVICE DESCRIPTION 6

4. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF CASES AND INTERVENTIONS 9

5. QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF CASES AND INTERVENTIONS 12

6. GROUP WORKSHOPS 16

7. CONCLUSIONS 20 1. ANTECEDENTS AND JUSTIFICATION

In July 2016, Barcelona City Council ap- provided support for the following organi- proved Barcelona City of Rights, a frame- sations: Irídia Centre for Human Rights; work programme for human-rights-based SIRECOVI, the warning system for cases policies in the city. Among the main themes of institutional violence; SOS Racism and to be developed, three priorities were es- others. At the same time, projects based tablished. These consisted of: rejecting on prevention and training were also car- hate speech and discrimination; promot- ried out with citizens in general and with ing citizen rights and full citizenship; and the authorities. rejecting institutional violence. At the same time, the Barcelona City of Civil liberties - the right to demonstrate, Rights programme establishes the OND the right of association and the right of free Office for Non-Discrimination as one of the speech - all have a common denominator: municipal mechanisms to ensure human they are considered instrumental rights rights. Founded in 1998, this Office has that are used to defend other rights. An- extensive experience providing assistance other shared feature is that these rights are to people affected by discrimination and 4 generally exercised in the street or public whose rights have been violated. places. The authorities have to protect Oficina per la No Discriminació these rights and ensure the necessary For this reason, as a result of the serious conditions so that citizens can exercise nature of the initial information concerning Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality these rights. At the same time, the authori- police brutality and abuse on 1 October, on 1 October ties have to ensure that these rights are Barcelona City Council was able to react respected and that the authorities them- quickly and set up an ad-hoc service. Final report selves do not jeopardise these rights by behaving in such a way that could be con- On 16 October, a first preliminary report sidered institutional violence. was presented. The final version of this report collates the data and results of the To implement the third priority, during the service provided from 3 to 20 October, the months of the programme’s application, period in which the special service oper- work was carried out with organisations ated. and groups that share this objective. This 2. OBJECTIVES

The Help service for victims of police bru- To choose the most relevant cases to insti- tality on 1 October has three objectives: gate private prosecution proceedings through strategic litigation with the aim of To provide quality legal and psychosocial achieving favourable outcomes that es- assistance to people who directly experi- tablish a precedent to prevent this type of enced police brutality or abuse and who event from occurring again. are, therefore, victims of institutional violence. This assistance can be provided either to individuals or to a group.

To independently collate the testimonials of affected persons with a view to creating a report on the violation of human rights.

Oficina per la No Discriminació

Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

Final report 3. SERVICE DESCRIPTION

The Help service for victims of police bru- fered legal and psychosocial assistance tality on 1 October was established to pro- by a team consisting of a lawyer, a psy- vide the following types of assistance: chologist from Irídia and a psychologist or social worker from OND. During the inter- • Legal consultation and assessment for view, psychosocial support and contain- the victims and family members of po- ment strategies were used, and victims lice brutality. were offered follow-up support if necessary, as we can see below. • Psychosocial assistance and support for the victims and family members of The first assessment visit, which lasted police brutality. between one and one and a half hours, aimed to obtain basic and necessary in- • Community support via group work- formation about the victim’s experience of shops in polling stations and neigh- the police brutality to enable a subsequent bourhoods where police repression oc- evaluation to be made and determine the curred, providing psychosocial support psychological and legal assistance re- 6 and/or legal consultation. quired for each case. This information grouped together different aspects, such Oficina per la No Discriminació The service: as: type of police brutality; physical and psychological effects of the police brutal- Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality • took place from 2 to 20 October; ity; context in which it occurred; identifica- on 1 October tion of person or persons responsible; • involved collaboration with various or- specific location of the affected person; Final report ganisations; instruments used; medical reports; images, videos and photos; and eye-witness • consisted of three communication statements of the events that can be used channels to manage cases: telephone, as legal evidence of the police brutality email and in-situ visit; and the injuries inflicted.

• had standard opening hours; The interviews consisted of providing psychosocial support to identify symp- • was completely free. toms related with trauma, taking into account the type of impact and injury expe- The Help service for victims of police bru- rienced with the aim of strengthening tality on 1 October offered comprehensive prevention and obtaining information to legal and psychosocial support to every- make the relevant referrals to specialised one who contacted the service via an initial services if deemed necessary. Further- psychological-legal interview. more, the affected persons were given coping and empowerment strategies to The OND staff organised and monitored promote self-confidence and a feeling of the interview times and dates, which were strength. Taking into account that the le- scheduled by phone or by email. If inter- gal process involves coming into renewed views were arranged by phone, the inter- contact with the traumatic experience, ested person was asked to provide au- which can lead a person to relive their thorisation for registering the personal trauma and come under high stress, emo- details they agreed to facilitate. Further- tional support was provided. This enabled more, when people went to the Help ser- the person to construct a strengthening vice location, the OND staff implemented narrative and prevent them from relapsing the initial phase of receiving people and into repeated trauma. For those cases in noting down the reason for their visit. which the media intervened, or in which Subsequently, the victim was interviewed harassment by the media was detected, in an interview room, where they were of- increased symptoms of stress and anxiety were noted. In these cases, increased • follow-up phone call to evaluate the support and emotional endurance strate- person’s symptoms and provide sup- gies were needed. port;

Legal assistance consisted of providing • second assessment interview if an assessment on the legal channels for deemed necessary. The second inter- reporting the violation of rights and the view was conducted by the same psy- brutality inflicted by the police on 1 Octo- chologist who conducted the first as- ber. Support was provided for people sessment interview. At this interview, making a statement before the Duty Court the psychologist decided whether they of Barcelona who had not already made a should offer further visits, refer the indi- statement about the police brutality expe- vidual to other public services, make a rienced and who wanted to do so, or for follow-up phone call or rule that no fur- people who had made incomplete state- ther follow up was considered neces- ments. Furthermore, in most cases, the sary. people had already made a statement to the Catalan Police on 1 October or in the • For those cases that were considered 7 following days. In these cases, the legal strategic in terms of litigation, more fre- Oficina assistance provided consisted of consul- quent individual visits were conducted per la No Discriminació tation and support for the collation of evi- and support was offered throughout Help Service for Victims dence for legal proceedings. Evidence of the legal process. of Police Brutality the occurrences consisted mainly of pho- on 1 October tos of injuries, videos and photos of po- All the interviews conducted were de- Final report lice brutality, medical reports on psycho- signed jointly with the person to adapt logical effects, medical reports on them to the person’s needs and ensure physical injuries, eye witness reports, that comprehensive support was provid- identification numbers of police officers ed. that engaged in brutality or additions to eye witness accounts made. Therefore, The OND legal service decided if the case collecting evidence proved one of the was only to be registered for the service largest, most important tasks, both for in- report accompanied with the standard le- dividual cases and in order to make this gal report or if a complementary report evidence available to the Magistrate’s was filed recommending that Barcelona Court responsible for investigating the City Council bring a case and act as a events. prosecutor, thus exercising the function of strategic litigation. After the first interview, the lawyers re- contacted those people who required The victim was asked if they wanted to some type of follow-up. Further legal sup- sign an authorisation enabling Irídia and port was given based on individual situa- Barcelona City Council to jointly process tions. their data. The victim was also asked if they wanted to sign a document on data Psychosocial support was required ex- protection for the “Registre Sirecovi”, clusively in eleven cases and, therefore, whose function is to process statements no lawyer was present at the first inter- on institutional violence received by the view. Observatory of the Penal System and Hu- man Rights (OSPDH) of the University of However, after the first interview, the team Barcelona. of psychologists, with prior agreement from the affected person, evaluated and Furthermore, following requests by affect- implemented the following interventions ed persons and organised groups, com- as part of a follow-up process: munity intervention group sessions were organised in some schools. Promoted by In this way, group sessions aimed to pro- Irídia and Fil a l’Agulla, these sessions vide psychological guidelines to identify lasted for two hours and used a method- the reactions, emotions and impact of peo- ology based on mutual and group support ple who suffered repression, help strength- offering psychosocial support and/or legal en community strategies of empowerment consultation. At the same time, a group and provide information about how and psychosocial initiative also took place at when to ask for professional help. the OND headquarters, with a workshop on Stress Management Techniques.

Oficina per la No Discriminació

Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

Final report 4. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF CASES AND INTERVENTIONS CONDUCTED

A total number of 294 people used the ser- • 41 people contacted the service to provi- vice. Of these people: de information and/or audiovisual mate- rial; • 49 people received in-situ legal and psychological support; • 17 people contacted the service to request information. • 11 people received psychological support only; Therefore, 65 people were interviewed.

• 5 people received legal support only; The following people received help. It is clear that the highest number of people • 171 people participated in group work- sought help on 4 and 5 October, which shops and received psychosocial sup- shows that the service was well advertised port and/or legal consultation; during the first days it was running.

Oficina per la No Discriminació

Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

Final report Persones ateses per dia (octubre 2017)

25 23

15 13

10 9 9 9 8 8 8 7 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 oct. 3 oct. 4 oct. 5 oct. 6 oct. 7 oct. 8 oct. 9 oct. 10 oct. 11 oct. 13 oct. 16 oct. 17 oct. 18 oct. 19 oct. 20 oct.

Entrevistes

Trucades

Mail Persones ateses per sexe

27 homes (42 %)

38 dones (58 %)

Oficina per la No Discriminació

Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October Persones ateses per grups d’edat

Final report

18-25 26-34 35-50 51-67 68-80 No consta Casos per centres electorals

CEIP Mediterrània, Barceloneta 8 IES Escola Pau Claris, Lluís Companys 18 7 Escola Pau Romeva, Les Corts 6 IES Ramon Llull, Eixample 4 Escola Prosperitat, Nou Barris 4 CAP Guinardó 4 Col·legi Àgora Nou Barris 4 Escoles Pies de Sant Antoni 3 CEIP Els Horts, Verneda 3 Escola l’Estel, Sagrera 3 Col·legi Estel, Guinardó 2 11 CEIP Marenostrum. P. Valldaura, 12 2 Oficina Escola Aiguamarina 1 per la No Discriminació

Help Service for Victims Escola Can Vilomara (Hospitalet) 1 of Police Brutality on 1 October Escola Tibidabo, Nou Barris 1 Final report CFA Freire 1 IES Joan Boscà. Av. Esplugues 1 IES Jaume Balmes, Eixample 1 Escola Pau Vila 1 Escola Project 1 Escola Infant Jesús 1 Casal d’Avis St. Iscle 1 Al carrer 3 Altres 1 5. QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS OF CASES AND INTERVENTIONS

During the days on which the service was juries, consisting mainly of bruises and active (from 2 to 20 October), we dealt cuts as a result of being hit with police with 65 cases: 61 cases were in-situ visits truncheons, pulled by the hair, dragged and 4 were phone calls. along the ground, kicked, punched or pushed. With the exception of one case, the rest were people who had been at various It is important to add that in all the docu- polling stations in Barcelona when police mented cases, and independently of there officers from the Spanish National Police being physical injuries, notable psycho- intervened on 1 October 2017. Of these, logical effects were detected. Generally, most were direct victims who had experi- feelings of profound indignation, distrust enced some form of aggression by Span- of the authorities and the police, and in- ish National Riot Police, although some comprehension of the events on 1 Octo- people were also indirect victims, i.e. ber were noted. The lack of public and people who witnessed brutality by the social recognition by the Spanish state National Spanish Police towards other authorities represents a painful silencing 12 people who, in some cases, were family for people affected by the police brutality members. and repression, which has led some to Oficina per la No Discriminació experience repeated trauma. For this rea- As can be observed in the pictures, the son, the public and social recognition by Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality situations described by the people who Barcelona City Council in offering this on 1 October visited the service in-situ consisted main- service has played a significant and posi- ly of people being beaten with police tive role. Final report truncheons, being kicked —particularly in delicate areas of the body such as the Symptoms of anxiety and heightened face, eyes and head— and, in some cas- stress were registered, caused by direct es, being pushed forcefully onto the violence inflicted on people as well as ground or down steps, resulting in injuries their witnessing scenes of violence. First, of varying seriousness. Especially serious we detected changes in the person’s eve- was the humiliating and violent behaviour ryday life, which has led to difficulties in inflicted on some people, consisting of re- sleeping and eating. In some cases, peo- peatedly being pushed by various offic- ple have been unable to fulfil their obliga- ers, being insulted, being pulled by the tions due to difficulties in concentrating. hair or by the face, and two cases of sex- Sociability has also been affected in some ual harassment highlighted by two wom- cases, and we have observed that some en who visited the Service. people have become socially isolated, ir- ritable and moody. Feelings of anger, Injuries ranging in seriousness were not- helplessness, fear and sadness have ed. One of the people had a very serious been detected, which have produced injury to their eye, which was the result of feelings of generalised distrust towards a rubber bullet being fired by a Spanish institutions and people. This distrust gen- police officer. The injury required - emer erates a state of hypervigilance that can gency surgery to reconstruct the eye, and lead people to be in a state of alert in po- the victim is still waiting to find out lice presence, when they hear sirens or whether they will regain their sight. An- are in other situations that remind them of other victim received a leg injury after be- the traumatic incidents. Additionally, in- ing shot with a rubber bullet. Another fif- vasive thoughts, flashbacks and dreams teen cases consist of less serious injuries about the traumatic events have been de- that required sutures (stitches) or tape tected on many occasions. Inability to (steri-strips) and/or injuries such as frac- talk about the incidents experienced on 1 tures and sprains. A total of 33 persons October is also prevalent, as well as dis- visited the Service with light physical in- sociative amnesia at times. From the accounts given by interviewees, pecially degrading treatment compared we have pinpointed behavioural conduct with the treatment of middle-aged men. by Spanish National Police officers from the day the incidents occurred. In particu- At the same time, we were told about sit- lar, the people that we interviewed who uations of an abusive and unjustified use were at the Escola Pia de Sant Antoni or of police truncheons. First, police officers CAP Guinardó on 1 October told us that used truncheons to hit people that had al- when the Spanish National riot police ap- ready been pushed to the ground and peared they immediately surrounded the who were, therefore, completely defence- people who were near the polling station less, according to accounts given by dif- doors. This meant that people were ferent people. In two cases, people ex- blocked in between the line of police in plained that the police did nothing to help front of them and the school wall behind them get up from the ground and, when them. This is a similar situation to that ex- they tried to rise, the police hit them again perienced in CEIP Àgora in Nou Barris. The with their truncheon. Second, we have re- interviewees concur in their accounts that, ceived a range of accounts that we have in the moments prior to the police interven- been able to corroborate with video im- 13 tion, they did not hear any officers tell them ages stating that the police agents used Oficina to leave. Practically everyone we inter- their truncheons to hit using a vertical per la No Discriminació viewed reiterated this fact. In the case of movement and aiming at the upper parts Help Service for Victims Pia de Sant Antoni School, the people who of the body. In some cases, they aimed at of Police Brutality explained that once the police officers had the person’s head, which infringes rules on 1 October positioned themselves in front of the peo- on the use of police truncheons. Final report ple, and without prior warning, they began to punch people in the face and ribs to then Equally important, according to the spo- force them out through the line of police, ken accounts and images we have ob- pushing and hitting them. In the case of tained from the people interviewed, police CAP Guinardó, one person who we inter- officers used rubber bullets when they viewed told us how one of the police offic- were at IES Ramon Llull and Pia de Sant ers pressed the open palm of his hand into Antoni schools. There is pictorial evi- the individual’s face, making them feel like dence showing the Spanish National riot they were suffocating, to remove them, police shooting directly —not towards the which caused them to fall on the ground. ground as a rebound shot—at a short dis- The technique of handling or pulling people tance from the citizens in a non-violent by the face has also been noted by people context. from other polling stations. Last, it is important to note that all the in- A similar situation occurred in IES Pau Cla- terviewees share a common denominator: ris. Those people who were on the stairs the absolute pacifistic attitude of the peo- inside the school were blocked by a row of ple concentrated at the polling stations. All police officers who positioned themselves accounts indicate that no violent incidents at the door, making it impossible for peo- were instigated by voters. Nor did they ple to leave. In this case, various interview- provoke the Spanish National Police in any ees stated that the police officers’ treat- way. ment of the women was especially degrading and that they pulled women by Below we present indicators of the qualita- the hair and pushed them down stairs. The tive analysis of cases attended to by the same behaviour was repeated throughout Service. Of the 65 people who visited the schools in the city. Service, the following situations of police brutality were reported. In many cases, From all the interviews, it is apparent that more than one act of police aggression women and old people were victims of es- was inflicted on a victim: Tipologia de l’agressió Tipologia de l’agressió

Oficina per la No Discriminació 35

Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

Final report

2 2

Cops de porra Cops de porra Estrabades i Cops de puny, Intimidacions Agressions Ferides per (part superior (part inferior empentes bofetades o verbals de caràcter bales de goma del cos) del cos) patades sexual

If we disaggregate this data into individual polling stations, we can formulate the following graph: Tipologia d’agressió per col·legi electoral

CEIP Mediterrània, Barceloneta

IES Escola Pau Claris, Lluís Companys 18

Escola Pau Romeva, Les Corts

IES Ramon Llull, Eixample

Escola Prosperitat, Nou Barris

CAP Guinardó

Col·legi Àgora Nou Barris

Escoles Pies de Sant Antoni

CEIP Els Horts, Verneda

Escola l’Estel, Sagrera

Col·legi Estel, Guinardó

CEIP Marenostrum. P. Valldaura, 12

Escola Tibidabo, Nou Barris

CFA Freire Escola Infant Jesús IES Jaume Balmes, Eixample

Escola Projecte

Al carrer

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Ferides per bales de goma

Agressions de caràcter sexual

Intimidacions verbals

Cops de puny, bufetades o patades

Estrabades i empentes

Cops de porra (part inferior cos)

Cops de porra (part superior cos) 6. GROUP WORKSHOPS

The community initiative group workshops It is important to note the following with were carried out in response to requests regard to the results obtained: received from schools and neighbourhoods in the city, where police violence • Emotional and psychosocial support had the greatest impact. They were organ- services were established in polling ised by Irídia, Centre for the defence of hu- stations affected by police brutality. man rights and Fil a l’Agulla. • Of these services, Nou Barris (Àgora The design of the community initiative was and El Turó schools) is an example of a based on the following objectives: sustainable experience: based on a first workshop, a mutual support group 1) To strengthen neighbourhood, associa- was established. Taking place every tion and community networks via mu- week, it offers people support and pro- tual and group support motes the exchange of coping strategies. 2) To offer people psychosocial support 16 strategies to: • The experience of the workshops has enabled local residents based near po- Oficina per la No Discriminació • Identify the reactions, emotions and im- lling stations affected by police brutali- pact that have occurred as a result of ty to do the following: express themsel- Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality the current context of repression ves emotionally, exchange resources, on 1 October establish emotional bonds of trust, • Identify and strengthen empowerment connect with community culture that Final report strategies strengthens support networks, enable comparisons and increased analysis of • Know when to ask for professional help: what is happening and promote a cul- criteria and network resources ture of care and mutual support. The participants shared their experiences • Manage family, school and child-based and emotions, which helped diminish environments with regard to the impact feelings of isolation as a result of the of the events on 1 Octobe experience, associated with feelings of shame and/or a feeling of being alone The methodology used consisted of creat- in association with the events. This has ing an open, people-orientated and trust- also enabled people to feel an increa- ing atmosphere to bring about trust, sed sense of empowerment, allowing awareness and mutual recognition. The ef- them to feel more in control of their fects and impact on mental and psychoso- own lives. cial health in a context of repression were also addressed. Furthermore, stress man- Furthermore, the participants from differ- agement techniques were exchanged. In ent polling stations where the workshops one school, a participant shared breathing took place have highlighted how useful and relaxation exercises with the whole the workshops are: group. The workshops produced an exchange of coping strategies, to generate • Identifying their own symptoms has positivity, learning and personal develop- helped to a) increase and take control ment in reaction to a sense of helpless- over their own lives; b) put words to ness experienced because of the repres- experiences in order to make sense of sion experienced on 1-O. them, even though this is one of the biggest challenges faced by most Some workshops included the provision of people; c) understand the reactions of information and legal consultation to re- individuals during 1-O often associat- solve legal queries. ed with feelings of guilt; d) normalise reactions and activate coping mecha- cerned about the effect of the events on nisms. children and how to manage children’s emotional response to the situation. To • Sharing in a group-community context combat this, psychological and educa- has generated collective feelings that tional tools geared towards crisis man- have allowed people to stop feeling agement for children and teenagers have isolated. It has helped them strengthen been provided. their feelings of belonging to a community of people who were affected by the As far as coping and strengthening mech- events. anisms are concerned, there has been a general need for people to explain and • Listening to the experiences of other share what they went through and to put people who were at the same polling words to their experiences. This strength- station has enabled people to increase ens social support among local residents their perspective on their own experi- in the neighbourhood and associations, ence and construct a collective narra- and it has become one of the main posi- tive, as well as engage in exchanges to tive forces to help participants recover. 17 make them stronger. Other recurring themes during the work- Oficina shops include: accepting and normalising per la No Discriminació • Benefiting from bonds of solidarity, mu- emotions and reactions experienced; Help Service for Victims tual respect and having people to lis- needing to disconnect from politics at of Police Brutality ten. Increasing self-confidence and certain times; doing sport; using humour on 1 October emotional resilience in reaction to the on occasions; looking after oneself; and, Final report repression experienced and the uncer- in general, having a respectful attitude to- tainty of the days that followed. wards relationships and personal space (especially around people who think dif- • Providing information on psychological ferently); and having self-respect and re- criteria, which can lead to recommen- spect towards others. dations for specialised attention and expected recovery times. The network created prior to and after 1-O is working as a protective element that In relation to the impact of the incidents, it helps strengthen people’s morale. In gen- is worth noting associated symptoms eral, we can see neighbourhood empow- such as stress, anxiety, guilt and fear, as erment at work. A sense of solidarity was well as significant and generalised feel- experienced during 1-O, and a resolute, ings of exhaustion. Uncertainty, feelings caring and protective capacity of the com- of helplessness and vulnerability after ex- munity has emerged in response to the re- periencing disproportionate force, as well pression. as feelings of injustice, are recurring top- ics at the workshops. At the same time, it Below are some statistics about the work- is important to note that people are con- shops: District Eixample Nou Barris Sant Andreu Eixample Ciutat Vella Les Corts Ciutat Vella Nou Barris Date workshop was conducted 26 October 11 October 9 October 7 October 6 October 12 October 11 October 2 October and 11 October

Oficina per la No Discriminació Type Type of workshop Psycho-social Psycho-social Psycho-social Psycho- social Psycho- social and legal consul - tation Psycho- social Psycho- social and legal Psycho- social Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

Final report Number of men 43 2 2 2 5 10 7 5 10 Number of women 128 15 5 13 10 30 10 15 30 Number of participants 171 17 7 15 15 40 17 20 40 Organisation Organisation running the workshop 8 workshops Filalagulla Iridia Iridia Filalagulla Filalagulla Iridia Iridia Iridia TOTAL Escola Ramon Llull/ Encants/Ies Jaume Balmes Escola El Turo Espai La Lira Espai Germanetes Ceip Escola Mediterrània Escola Ausies March IES Pau Claris Ceip Agora Polling stations and by places affected events on 1 October The following information about the profi les The usefulness of the workshops was rat- of people who attended the workshops has ed 9.17 out of 10 and overall satisfaction, been obtained based on questionnaires 9.15. It is also important to note that 9 out given out over the last fi ve: of 10 participants stated that the workshop provided them with additional coping In general, the age range of people attend- strategies for this type of situation and ing the workshops is from 36 to 65. enabled them to fi nd out where to go to request further help if necessary.

majors de 65 menys (2 %) de 18 (2 %)

19-35 anys (24 %) 19

Ofi cina 36-65 anys (72 %) per la No Discriminació

Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality on 1 October

Final report

People attending the workshops are generally local residents who live near the polling stations where the workshops are conducted.

2 % (veí DCR) 2 % (veïna 4 % membre (CDR) AMPA)

12 % (altres)

46 % (veïna) 15 % (membre AMPA)

19 % (veí) 7. CONCLUSIONS

Based on the analysis of individual cases bullets are prohibited in Catalonia, the of people that sought help from the Ser- Spanish National Police and Civil Guard vice, as well as the extensive graphic doc- do not have to comply with this prohibi- umentation and eye witness accounts we tion. Despite this, however, using rub- have had access to through our collabora- ber bullets must still adhere to estab- tion with the Irídia centre, we have drawn lished protocols. It is crucial that the the following conclusions. judge investigating the police actions on 1 October be able to determine whether the police adhered to the legal 1. Even though the actions of the Spanish requirements, such as: giving a verbal National Police and the Civil Guard on 1 warning before shooting; maintaining a October were instigated because of on safety distance; aiming at the ground to executive judicial orders to stop people produce a rebound shot; not shooting from voting at the referendum, these directly at people, and so on. actions amounted to an excessive use of force. Based on the victims’ ac- 3. The accounts of the events experi- 20 counts, it appears that the actions of enced on 1 October could be interpret- the police were conducted to generate ed as a violation of human rights and, Oficina per la No Discriminació panic among the community. They also therefore, a violation of both national sought to produce a destabilising ef- and international law. The following hu- Help Service for Victims of Police Brutality fect, among both people that were con- man rights have been violated: freedom on 1 October centrated at polling stations and their of speech, physical and moral integrity surroundings and people who had not and the right to peacefully congregate Final report yet gone to the polling stations but who and protest; rights established in the were informed of the police repression Spanish Constitution as international via the media. The excessive and dis- instruments for the protection of human proportionate use of force is evident rights. when we look at examples of violent acts by police officers who subse- 4. The accounts given by people who vis- quently left the polling station without ited the Service also represent an in- even going inside to seize the ballot fringement of internal law and the juris- box. It can also be seen in examples of prudence that interprets it, which police using truncheons, pushing, establishes that the actions of police punching and kicking people who were officers must be governed by “princi- on the ground and people who wanted ples of congruence, opportunity and to leave the scene. Likewise, it is also proportionality”, as stated in section c) clear in examples of police behaving of article 5.4 of the Organic Law 2/86 violently towards people who were not on Law Enforcement Forces dated 13 blocking the entrance or exit to the March 1986, section 19: “arms should polling stations. only be used in situations when there is a reasonably serious risk to their life, 2. Especially concerning is the police fir- their person or other people, or in cir- ing rubber bullets and the use of riot cumstances that represent a serious police against peaceful protesters who risk to the safety of citizens and in ad- were exercising fundamental rights. herence to the principals referred to in Two people interviewed stated that the previous section.” The response to they had been injured when they were the mandate of the article 104 CE is in- shot by rubber bullets. Of particular spired by the highlighted lines of the concern is the case of a man who was “Police Declaration” made by the shot in the eye with a rubber bullet and Council of Europe on 08/05/1979, and who had to undergo surgery. It is im- by the “Code of conduct for law en- portant to note that although rubber forcement officials”, approved by the United Nations General Assembly on who sought help from the Service and 17 December 1979. the initiation of legal proceedings at the relevant Court to investigate the events 5. A social and community-based net- have been important. work has been effectively activated to provide coping strategies and collec- 7. In view of the situations described, tive support mechanisms following the Barcelona City Council is studying repression. In this vein, mutual support what measures to implement beyond groups have sprung up in different providing victims with legal and psy- neighbourhoods, some of which have chosocial support. To do this, they are requested support or community in- considering the possibility of initiating volvement from the Service, although prosecution proceedings for especial- others have not. These groups have ly serious cases, either because of the been especially active in polling sta- injuries sustained or because of the tions that were subjected to police in- way in which the events transpired. tervention. The Irída Centre is considering insti- gating private prosecution proceed- 21 6. Significant psychological effects have ings for 6 cases, in which they will rep- Oficina been noted in the victims, regardless of resent the victims’ interests. Lastly, it per la No Discriminació whether they suffered physical injuries. is important to note that the magis- Help Service for Victims These effects consist of a profound trate’s court number 7 in Barcelona is of Police Brutality sense of indignation, distrust of the au- the competent legal body to investi- on 1 October thorities and police force and incom- gate the circumstances pertaining to Final report prehension of the events experienced the police actions and indicate what on 1 October. The lack of public and circumstances represent an excessive social recognition by the Spanish state use of force. Therefore the fact that the authorities represents a painful silenc- Court has grouped together incidents ing for people who experienced police at each of the polling stations affected brutality and repression, which has led by the aforementioned police brutality some people to undergo repeated trau- into separate elements may help unify ma. For this reason, both the support the criteria for police investigative pro- and recognition received by victims ceedings.