Cabinet spares violent Catalan police officers

 

The government has issued a second stay of sentence against 4 members of the Catalan police force who were found guilty of torturing a suspect.

In 2006 the Mossos d'Esquadra officers confused a Romanian man with a wanted offender and dished out a beating at his home. The officers, who did not identify themselves as police, also stuck a gun in the mouth of Lucian Paduraru.

The officers were sentenced to jail terms of up to 4-and-a-half years but these were commuted by the government to 2 years, meaning they would not have to go to prison. The Barcelona provincial High Court threw out the decision due to the "social alarm" the incident caused.

The officers were due to begin their sentences on December 10, but the Cabinet has instead set them a daily fine over 2 years, totaling 7,200 euros each.