The Madrid Court orders the reopening of the investigation against Illa for distributing "defective" masks to toilets

It agrees with the State Confederation of Medical Unions and estimates its appeal

MADRID, 22 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Provincial Court of Madrid has ordered the reopening of the investigation that was filed in the Investigating Court Number 14 of Madrid against the former Minister of Health and leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa, for "having facilitated the health personnel --during the first stage of the pandemic -- defective masks without respecting the established administrative procedure and without previously verifying their suitability".

The magistrates have agreed with the State Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) and have estimated their appeal. Thus, they have agreed to revoke the decision of the examining magistrate so that he "begins the criminal investigation."

In an order of December 15, to which Europa Press has had access, the Second Section of the Madrid Court has ordered the court to send official letters to the Carlos III Health Institute and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (INSST). ) "in order to issue certification of the results of the analysis of the Garry Galaxi FFP2 N95 masks" that were "acquired by the Ministry of Health".

Likewise, the Court has indicated to the court that it must send an official letter to the Ministry of Health to provide the distribution and delivery agreements to the autonomous communities of said masks; a copy of the communications received by Aragon and Catalonia on April 10, 2020; and the documentation received from all the autonomous communities on the execution of the removal order.

This case arises from the complaint filed by the CESM on April 27, 2020 in the Supreme Court against Illa, who was Minister of Health at the time. In that complaint, the ex-charge of the Government was attributed the crime against the rights of workers "for having provided health personnel with a series of FFP2 N95 masks that did not comply with safety regulations (...) without adopting control measures and verification of its suitability prior to its distribution".

In December 2020, the Supreme Court rejected this and other complaints against charges assessed for the management of the pandemic and sent several complaints and complaints to the investigating courts in Madrid.

The letter from the medical union fell to the Investigating Court Number 14 of Madrid which, although initially inhibited and sent the case to the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia - considering that it was the competent body to investigate Illa for her condition of deputy of the Parliament--, finally agreed "the provisional dismissal of the proceedings by order dated June 30, 2022".

Faced with such a decision, the CESM filed an appeal before the Madrid Court. He alleged that the judge had agreed to the dismissal "relying exclusively on the file decreed by the Investigating Court Number 53 of Madrid on facts that are not related to those present."

The Court of Madrid has considered that the union "is right" and that the cases "are not the same". "Both cases refer to the pandemic, but while in the procedure processed before the Investigating Court No. 53 of Madrid it was a matter of not providing the State Security Forces and Corps with the necessary means (quantitative omission), in our This case is about having provided health personnel with defective masks without respecting the established administrative procedure and without previously verifying their suitability (qualitative omission)," the court explained.

In 15 pages, the magistrates have detailed the legal grounds for which they consider it pertinent to reopen the case after having concluded that "the investigating court agreed to dismiss the proceedings without carrying out any investigative procedure."

The Chamber wanted to make it clear that it is not "criminalizing the pandemic" and has stressed that the circumstances surrounding these events "will have to be modulated when assessing the concurrence of criminal elements." However, it has warned that "this exceptional situation" cannot serve as a "letter of marque" to rule out from the beginning any type of criminal responsibility "as if it were a cause of exclusion of criminal liability".