When the report doesn't conform to reality

The Central Military Tribunal annulled the resolution which deprived Serviliano Valencia, the former provincial secretary general of the Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) in Badajoz, Spain, of his salary for ten days, for considering him the author of a serious disciplinary fault in issuing "reports or service reports that do not conform to reality."

The decision was taken after the Tribunal concluded that the civil guard's conduct, in the hypothetical case in which it could be  considered "fraudulent", could not be punished, pursuant to the article that was applied to him, given that the accusations that he made "could not be considered a report or service report."

In this way, the proceedings that were initiated by Serviliano Valencia, assigned to the Civil Guard of Badajoz, were ended.  Valencia filed a disciplinary report with the general head of the Traffic Group and charged that the lieutenant, head of the Traffic of Zafra detachment, had signed service reports in which he authorized the holding of training exercises that in reality never took place.  Valencia communicated these supposed facts after receiving an anonymous message.

The military Tribunal, which considered the case, found that the denounced facts were confirmed with respect to a training exercise that was not carried out on September 14, 2015, and which affected both this lieutenant, head of the Traffic of Zafra detachment, and a sergeant.  Nonetheless, Valencia denounced similar facts on two other occasions with respect to training exercises, which, in fact, were carried out, and where "his contentions were false."

The Tribunal was of the view that even though the then head of the AUGC did not verify that the facts were real, he should not have been punished under the article that was applied to him.  Consequently, it found in favor of the recourse presented by Segundo Berjano, Valencia's lawyer, who managed to get the money returned to him and the punishment erased from his file.