Íñigo Errejón, leader of Más País, has been acquitted of misdemeanor bodily harm for which he was tried a few weeks ago. Errejón had had to sit on the accused bench kicking a man in May 2021 in the heart of Madrid, specifically in the Lavapiés neighborhood.
The titular judge of the Court of Instruction number 16 of Madrid acquitted him when concluding that after the test practiced in the trial It has not been “proved that the defendant kicked the complainant” on the night of May 2, 2021, after the closing of the campaign for the regional elections in Madrid.
“The evidence carried out has not shown how the events occurred, if they were as the complainant indicates or if they were as the accused indicates. Only the request for the photo by the complainant, the refusal of the accused and the subsequent discussion is proven. between them”, emphasizes the judge in his sentence.
The judge further adds that the statements of the witnesses provided by both parties are “contradictory”. “The testimonials provided by the complainant’s witness and the defendant’s witnesses are clearly contradictory, because where the complainant’s witness – a neighbor from the neighborhood with whom he had had a few beers – sees a violent kick that moves him two meters away, the witnesses of the defendant – party comrades – they only see a situation in which a person annoys the defendant, by insisting several
times –and in bad ways, they say– to take a picture with him, until
about to try to do it without his consent, putting his arm around him,
moment in which the accused withdraws his arm”, reasons the judge in his sentence.
At the time of his sentence, the judge relies on two other arguments: on the one hand, it indicates that the images recorded by the security cameras of the area “they do not shed light on what happened, despite the attempt to improve the images”. The magistrate adds that “the audio recordings do not show what happened either, being subsequent to the moment in which the events occurred.”
The judge also argues that the injury report submitted by the complainant not trustworthy. The judge comments as follows: “The medical reports linked to the proceedings, which have given rise to two reports from the Forensic Doctor, do not
evidence the existence of any medical consequence derived from the
supposed kick. Moreover, the complainant, as he himself acknowledges in
his statement, he did not go to the emergency room until three days later, and he did
taking advantage of the fact that he had some free time between doing some clinical tests and visiting the specialist doctor who treats his illness with whom he had an appointment that morning”.
Judge rejects the opening of new procedures for possible crimes of perjury as requested by the two parties against the opposing party and their witnesses, since it cannot be concluded how the events actually occurred.
“It is obvious that someone is not telling the truth, but not who, and therefore it is not appropriate to deduce testimony for the initiation of criminal proceedings,” settles the magistrate.
If you have been found guilty, Errejón would have faced a fine of between one and two monthsas established in article 147 of the Penal Code.
An accusation floated in certain media
The events in court occurred around 10:30 p.m. on May 2, 2021, when Errejón was walking in the company of some friends and the complainant, Alberto DC, addressed him and asked for a photograph. Faced with the deputy’s refusal, the man insisted and that is when –according to the complaint– he was kicked in the stomach.
Certain far-right press gave wide coverage to this event. At first Errejón was denounced for assault, but the investigating judge deflated the initial accusation until it was reduced to a possible minor offense of injury.
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