National High Court Central Administrative Court denies state liability on the arrest of Verges Mayor Ignasi Sabater

The Central Administrative Court of the National High Court denies financial liability on behalf of the State in the arrest of the mayor of Verges, Ignasi Sabater. Sabater (CUP) had made this claim following his arrest on 16 January 2019 for his alleged participation in the blocking of the TGV tracks at the Girona train station. The mayor was not at the protest that day and his case ended up being shelved. On the day of the arrest, two hooded National Police officers arrested the mayor in his garage and broke one of his wrist bones, which led to him being unable to work for 164 days. In the police car, the officers humiliated Sabater. The mayor also reports that at first they wouldn’t let his lawyer, Benet Salellas, in if he didn’t speak in Spanish. As a result of these events, Sabater filed a claim to the Central Administrative Court for financial liability for the wrist injury, which was dismissed. The court considers, among other things, that because arrest was carried out in a climate of ‘high tension’ and of ‘struggle,’ and that ‘it is not surprising’ that the placement of the handcuffs would have injured him, when he hit one of the policemen in the face, intentionally or not, which caused bruises. The mayor announces that he will file an appeal to the Constitutional Court against the sentence.