The Supreme confirms the sanction of a civil guard for racist comments to two Ecuadorian citizens
The Supreme Court has confirmed the disciplinary sanction of a civil guard who made racist comments to two Ecuadorian workers who ran a bar in Mallorca. The magistrates maintain the one-year suspension of employment for the agent, who addressed the owner of a bar "with expressions such as 'he had come out of a jungle'; that 'he climbed a coconut tree'; 'Ecuadorian, you came in a boat and you're starving' and that 'he was on a boat and he was a bastard', according to the appealed sentence, published by elDiario.es.
The ruling states that while he addressed them with "offensive and denigrating expressions, due to their nationality and immigrant status", he also "publicly stated his status as a member of the Civil Guard regularly" and boasted "of the damage he could do with his badge".
The Supreme dismisses the appeal filed by the agent against this ruling. In addition, the judges emphasize that the "ostentation" that the sanctioned person made of his membership in the Armed Institute, starring in the "unfair harassment" for which he has been convicted, harms the image of this institution, according to the ruling issued by the Military Chamber on June 20th.
The events that prompted this case took place in the Majorcan town of Algaida throughout 2019. During the agent's visits to the establishment – "on numerous occasions" and with witnesses present – the civil guard addressed both the owner of the bar and an employee with "offensive and denigrating expressions, because of their nationality and immigrant status."
In parallel to the derogatory comments towards the owner of the establishment, the appellant addressed a waitress as "Ecuadorian, you are useless, you work when you feel like it", details the appealed sentence, issued by the Central Military Court. In addition to these disrespects, the military magistrates highlighted an episode that caused the waitress "a marked state of anxiety that required medical assistance at a local health center" and the prescription of an anxiolytic for seven days.
That turning point took place at one in the morning on July 24, 2019. According to the court, "in the course of a discussion held" with the waitress, "about whether she had people who were in charge of caring for her dog, the appellant addressed her with expressions such as 'parasite', 'you are insignificant', 'you are only good for serving drinks', 'you are starving people who arrived in a boat' and 'you are drug traffickers', after which which told him: 'My plate can do a lot of damage, you're going to find out".
Taking these facts into account, the director general of the Civil Guard imposed on him on October 28, 2020 a one-year suspension of employment as the author of a very serious offense consisting of "the abuse of powers that causes serious damage to citizens or the Administration", provided for in the disciplinary regime of the Armed Institute. The case has reached military justice after the agent appealed this decision, which was ratified on February 23, 2021 by the Defense Minister. In November, the Central Military Court ratified the sanction and the Supreme Court endorses that action.
The defense of the agent attached to the organic unit of the Judicial Police of the Balearic Islands alleges in the appeal presented that his client's right to the presumption of innocence and the principle 'in dubio pro reo' have been violated, stating that in In case of doubt, the defendant should be favored. In addition, they point out that the principle of legality and the principle of proportionality of the sanction have been infringed.
For the magistrates of the High Court, the appeal filed against the sentence of the Military Justice has "inconsistency" in its arguments and in it, the sanctioned person does not explain "reasonably" why the ruling violates "the norm or the jurisprudence". And they defend that the reasoning of the appealed sentence is "exhaustive, precise and convincing".
