Spanish police inspector sentenced to one year in prison for ideological assault against Catalan journalist

The Spanish police inspector who assaulted photojournalist Jordi Borràs in 2018 has accepted a one-year prison sentence and paying 7.000 euros as compensation, besides the assumption of all court costs. In the conciliation act before the trial, he admitted that he assaulted Borràs for ideological reasons and withdrew the accusation against him, in which he said that it was the photojournalist who had attacked him.

Borràs explained that the conviction of the police inspector also includes having to take two courses on violence prevention and a ban on approaching him for four years. “I am very happy. I have been waiting three and a half years for this moment, I have been falsely accused and today it’s clear who the victim is and who the aggressor”, he stated. The most important thing for Borràs is that the police officer acknowledged that there were ideological reasons for the attack. “Therefore, this must have consequences. We will fight as hard as we can so that this individual can never exercise again”, Borràs concluded.

The photojournalist recalled that the former delegate of the Spanish government in Catalonia, Teresa Cunillera, said that this inspector was not sanctioned because there were cross-accusations and that, consequently, he was innocent until proven otherwise. “It has already been shown that I am the innocent and he is the culprit,” Borràs said. And he added: “He must be expelled from the corps, I will not accept anything else.”

Borràs believes that he was lucky to have witnesses, and recalled “all those unjustly convicted and all the people who have suffered violence from Spain’s deep state”. The Hate Crime Prosecutor’s Office was seeking a two-year prison sentence for aggravated assault with aggravated discrimination on ideological grounds. They also demanded that he be disqualified from passive suffrage during these two years and that he compensate Borràs with 7.500 euros.

In an old interview with VilaWeb, Borràs explained that, leaving the presentation of a political event at the Ateneu Barcelonès, he was reprimanded by a man in the street who shouted at him “Long live Spain!”. As Borràs ignored him, he approached him and shouted again “Long live Spain and long live Franco!” and he punched him a few times and knocked him to the ground. At the time of the first blow they were alone, but soon more pedestrians arrived who tried to stop him. The attacker then showed a police plaque and identified himself. m it was police. After that, he ran away, dropping a knife on the way.

Borràs had a broken nose as a result of the beatings. He also hurt his ribs and neck. Months later, newspaper La Directa revealed that at the time of the assault, the inspector was a member of the Provincial Information Brigade attached to the Superior Spanish Police Headquarters of Catalonia. In addition, according to newspaper Público, he has been a member of far-right party Vox since 2016.