Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Guardia Civil docket

The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) reports here on recent military justice developments (Google translation):

AUGC represents a civil guard from Cehegín who was tried on May 10 for an alleged military crime of "simulating illness" [malingering] and has obtained an acquittal that has prevented him from having to enter the Military Prison of Alcalá Meco for a period of six months.

However, this victory has not prevented that during the four years that the process has lasted, his medical and personal situation has worsened as a result of the uncertainty of the possible conviction for an unfair and grotesque situation. From AUGC we wonder if those responsible for the accusation will also be tried for "inventing that our partner was simulating a disease."

On May 10, a trial was held against our colleague, accused of a military crime of "simulating illness" for some events that occurred in 2017. At that trial, the members of the Military Medical Court were summoned as witnesses, as well as as well as the private media that had assisted him. After hearing the testimony of the former, the Military Prosecutor observed that this judicial matter was a tremendous error and stopped the accusation, which resulted in the acquittal.

A SICK CIVIL GUARD TREATED AS A CRIMINAL OFFENDER

The origin of such unreason occurs in 2017, when after three years of medical leave for psychiatric reasons, he was obligatorily discharged and returned to his job, where in a psychotic outbreak he took a gun with the intention of committing suicide. Fortunately, a corporal from his unit prevented any damage and alerted his commanders and the medical services.

The agent was transferred to the Caravaca de la Cruz hospital, where the emergency psychiatrist who treated him appreciated ideas of death and he was transferred to a specialized psychiatric center. Once in the psychiatric hospital, he was diagnosed with an anxious depressive disorder and days later, after being reviewed by his psychiatrist, he was granted medical leave, a situation he has maintained ever since. 

However, the simple comment of a captain about the possibility that he was simulating a disease, collected in the initial medical report, led to a witch hunt for possible military crimes that has now ended. Four years of personal ordeal and worsening of his medical ailments, solely due to the comment of a commander who should have kept quiet, since he was neither certain nor about medical or psychiatric personnel.

Finally, and after four years of delay, sanity has been imposed and it has been sentenced with free acquittal and for all purposes, the sentence picking up a totally illuminating quote.

THE MILITARY PENAL CODE IS ARCHAIC IN TIMES OF PEACE

AUGC has denounced on numerous occasions that the Military Penal Code must be reformed, applied only in times of war and, above all, not applicable to civil guards in "citizen security functions" as is the case at hand. Law 12/2007 of the Disciplinary Regime of the Civil Guard is sufficient to sanction serious conduct such as disobedience, insults, no-show, etc. Thus, it includes sanctions of up to six years of suspension from functions or expulsion from the Body, totally valid sanctions for this type of conduct.

AUGC cannot admit that infractions, mainly of citizen security functions, are “punished” with totally disproportionate prison sentences that destroy the civil guards as professionals and as individuals. 

On this occasion we are in luck, but we do not forget that a Cartagena Civil Guard is currently in a similar situation for allegedly "disobeying" an officer by not performing a role as a driver that he claims to have ordered. What has been said, a disproportionate "punishment" for an offense that, if true, would imply a minor or serious offense of the Disciplinary Regime.

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