In violation of the principles of the UN “Convention against Torture”, Silvia had been prevented from providing her defence with the Istanbul Protocol drawn up by the Sir[a] Centre, which attests to the abuses.
The Provincial Court finally admitted yesterday during the trial, the expert report drawn up by the Sir[a] Centre on Silvia. A resident of Getxo, who was assaulted at the police station by the police. Her trial has been postponed until the evidence is reviewed.
Silvia was arrested after rebuke two Ertzaintza officers who treated a person who was begging at the door of a supermarket in a vexatious manner. Later, at the police station, after claiming her letter of rights, she was beaten by the officers, punched and pushed. Although the aggression was recorded in the video, The officers filed a complaint against Silvia for possible offences of “attack”, “resistance” and “injury”. To this was added a complaint from the Basque Government, which intervened in the case, calling for 7 years in prison for her for resisting and assaulting authority.
In a reversal unusual, and without respecting the international standards set by the Committee Against Torture the court had rejected as evidence the expert report based on the UN report on the Istanbul Protocol that we developed from the Sir[a] Centre, at the request of the defence.
This report not only confirms the consistency of Silvia's story, but also reflects other impacts such as severe depressive symptoms, post-traumatic stress disorder, a breakdown in the vision of the world as a safe place, or a deepening distrust of human beings, among others.
The Istanbul Protocol in Spain
While the court's rectification is a cause for celebration, the refusal to admit the evidence at first instance again calls into question the commitment del Estado con el cumplimiento y la defensa de los Derechos Humanos. En este sentido, tal y como recogemos en el informe que remitimos al Comité Contra la Tortura en junio de este año, el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos ha condenado hasta en 12 ocasiones al Estado español por la no investigación de alegaciones de tortura en el país. De hecho, en sus sentencias no solo destacan la falta de voluntad política, sino la nula o deficiente documentación forense de estas situaciones.
We at the Sir[a] Centre will continue to advocate the need for the State to officially recognise the Istanbul Protocol as a reference manual for documenting and investigating the allegations of torture; and to ensure that all relevant staff are trained on how to research y document this type of action.