Wallet-stealing immigrant tortured by Guardia Civil
Two officers of Spain's Guardia Civil police force were sentenced on Thursday to a year in prison for torturing an immigrant who stole a purse in Valencia.
In the 2008 incident, two officers of Spain's gendarmerie tortured a Cuban immigrant who stole a purse at a shopping mall in the Valencia municipality of Alboraia, 20minutos reported on Thursday.
Having detained the man, the officers then drove him down a back road to Tavernes Blanques (Valencia) where they threatened and beat him.
Unfortunately for them, the actions of Antonio Cano and Carlos Palomo were caught on a recording device which had been placed in their vehicle by the force's internal affairs unit.
That device had been installed because Palamo was suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering.
"Let's throw him in the ditch and see what's happens," the pair were recorded as saying at one point.
At another point, the two men were caught singing along to the song 'Cuando salí de Cuba' (When I left Cuba). One of the men could then be heard saying: "This is the best part of the job".
The two men were originally found guilty of torture but then appealed in May 2012.
In their appeal, officers Antonio Cano and Carlos Palomo said the recording equipment had been of insufficient quality to capture the incident in question.
They also argued that they had not been presented with a chance to interrogate the victim and that they played no role in inflicting his injuries.
However, Spain´s Supreme Tribunal on Thursday rejected their appeal.
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In the 2008 incident, two officers of Spain's gendarmerie tortured a Cuban immigrant who stole a purse at a shopping mall in the Valencia municipality of Alboraia, 20minutos reported on Thursday.
Having detained the man, the officers then drove him down a back road to Tavernes Blanques (Valencia) where they threatened and beat him.
Unfortunately for them, the actions of Antonio Cano and Carlos Palomo were caught on a recording device which had been placed in their vehicle by the force's internal affairs unit.
That device had been installed because Palamo was suspected of drug trafficking and money laundering.
"Let's throw him in the ditch and see what's happens," the pair were recorded as saying at one point.
At another point, the two men were caught singing along to the song 'Cuando salí de Cuba' (When I left Cuba). One of the men could then be heard saying: "This is the best part of the job".
The two men were originally found guilty of torture but then appealed in May 2012.
In their appeal, officers Antonio Cano and Carlos Palomo said the recording equipment had been of insufficient quality to capture the incident in question.
They also argued that they had not been presented with a chance to interrogate the victim and that they played no role in inflicting his injuries.
However, Spain´s Supreme Tribunal on Thursday rejected their appeal.
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