SPAIN: THE RIGHT TO PROTEST UNDER THREAT Amnesty International Publications First published in April 2014 by Amnesty International Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © Amnesty International Publications 2014 Index: EUR 41/001/2014 Original Language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for reuse in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. To request permission, or for any other inquiries, please contact [email protected] Cover photo: [Credit] Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 3 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 5 2. CONTEXT: THE RISE OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE RESPONSE OF THE SPANISH AUTHORITIES .............................................................................................................. 9 3. ABOUT THIS REPORT ............................................................................................. 12 4. THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND STANDARDS, AND SPANISH LAW AND PRACTICE ........................................................ 14 4.1 Restrictions on assemblies .................................................................................. 16 Prohibitions on demonstrations around politicians’ homes and offices ........................ 17 4.2. Notification as a prior requirement for public assemblies ...................................... 18 International standards on notification requirements ................................................ 18 5. PENALTIES ON ORGANISERS AND PARTICIPANTS - A WAY TO DISCOURAGE PROTEST? ................................................................................................................. 21 5.1 Administrative penalties under the Law on Protection of Public Safety .................... 21 5.2 Administrative fines for protest organisers ............................................................ 23 5.3 Administrative fines against protest participants ................................................... 24 5.4 The “escrache” of the Deputy Prime Minister ....................................................... 28 5.5 Attempt to criminalise organisers – the case of 25S .............................................. 29 6. POLICING DEMONSTRATIONS ................................................................................ 32 6.1 International standards on the use of force ........................................................... 32 6.2 Excessive use of anti-riot equipment .................................................................... 34 6.3 Excessive use of force and ill-treatment in carrying out arrests................................ 39 6.4 Treatment in police custody ................................................................................ 41 6.5. Gender-based degrading treatment ..................................................................... 44 6.6 The targeting of journalists during demonstrations ................................................. 46 7. INADEQUATE INVESTIGATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ........................................................................................ 49 7.1. Identification of officers .................................................................................... 50 7.2. Lack of transparent investigation ....................................................................... 51 Lack of information on ministerial inquiry into events in Plaza Cataluña on 27 May 2011 .......................................................................................................................... 51 No public results of the announced internal investigation into the alleged excessive use of force on 25 September 2012 ............................................................................ 52 7.3. Lack of adequate judicial investigation ............................................................... 54 8. REFORMS TO THE CRIMINAL CODE AND THE LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF PUBLIC SAFETY ..................................................................................................................... 59 9. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................ 63 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................... 69 Spain: The right to protest under threat 5 1. INTRODUCTION “Two policemen in civilian clothes pushed me against a wall and threw me to the ground; they brought me outside and identified themselves as police, they told me I was under arrest because I tried to attack the Counsellor of Health. If it wasn’t for the footage, I would be in serious trouble. (…) The policeman knows that due to his false accusations a person will spend a day in a cell and that he will never be held responsible for this. Being arrested is a very negative experience. I am glad there were video recordings of what really happened, no one likes to be arrested, you’re so frightened, your bosses will think you assaulted the Counsellor, your friends will think you attacked someone. It makes you afraid, and so you become more careful; my friends and my lawyer have advised me not to go to “escraches” and not to be in the front line during evictions.” Jorge, 35 years of age, is a healthcare assistant in a health centre in Madrid. He is an active member of Marea Blanca1 and also belongs to the 15M Carabanchel Popular Assembly.2 He has also been involved in actions organized by a group called STOP Evictions3 in his neighbourhood. On 25 March 2013, during a protest in support of the public health system, which took place on the occasion of a visit by the Counsellor of Health of the Autonomous Community of Madrid to a privately-run public hospital, Jorge was arrested and accused of attempting to assault the Counsellor. According to Jorge, he was in the hospital hallway along with other people shouting slogans against the privatisation of the health system when two people pushed him against a column, threw him to the ground and jumped on him. They subsequently identified themselves as police officers who told him he was being arrested for attempting to assault the Counsellor. Jorge was then transferred to the police station of Móstoles. The next morning he was brought before a judge, where he denied the charge of attacking the Counsellor and was released pending further proceedings. Index: EUR 41/001/2014 Amnesty International April 2014 6 Spain: The right to protest under threat On 17 June, the examining judge dismissed the case against him “(…) after seeing the images provided to the court by Spanish National Television, the version put forward by the police officers making the charge was not credible.4 Indeed, unbroadcasted footage filmed inside the hospital by a Spanish TV channel shows that Jorge shouted slogans while standing several metres away from the Counsellor, never trying to attack or get close to him. However, accusations against Jorge were widely reported in the media, including some reports accusing him of trying to assault the Counsellor and giving information about his identity, including his name (or in some cases initials of his surname) and the neighbourhood where he lives. It was not the first time that Jorge faced criminal proceedings for exercising his right to freedom of peaceful assembly. On 25 March 2012, he and some friends went to the Atocha neighbourhood of Madrid in order to participate in a demonstration taking place there at midday, to protest against what they considered to be injustices related to the right to housing. They were carrying two rolled up banners. While they were waiting for other people to join them, as they had arrived before the rally started, Jorge was stopped by police officers for an identity check. This was at 11.50 am, as noted in a police report he was later provided with. According to Jorge, the officers asked him to unroll the banners and they noted down the text of these in a notebook. The officers did not give any reason for the identity check. A few minutes later, Jorge received an unrelated call from the police telling him he should go home because a small fire had been started in his doorway. He immediately returned home and, after talking to the police officers there, he went to the police station to file a complaint about the fire, apparently deliberately started by unknown persons. Two months later, on 11 May 2012, he received a letter from the Government Delegate’s Office in Madrid