The first two sessions of the program Seville trial against eight soldiers in connection with the death of Mallorcan legionnaire Alejandro Jiménez CruzDied on March 25, 2019 After Agost was hit in the maneuvering area (Alicante)let you set lines of defense The person alleged to have been shot, Sergeant Saúl Guil, for whom the prosecutor is seeking a seven-year sentence, claimed he did not shoot. In the last stage of the exercise, he attributed the death of the soldier. bouncing bullet. The captain who was in command, Antonio CabelloNoting that the prosecutor, who is facing 5 years in prison, agrees with him,According to him, the wound was “not a direct shot.” lieutenant confirms that he did not fire during the entire maneuver, as his job was to supervise the maneuver, although he said that He couldn’t remember what positions they were in. The lieutenant of the other platoon confirms that neither he nor his NCOs used their weapons. and ensured that his men did not fire from the side to avoid full evasion. bullet ricochets. The other four defendants say they do not remember whether the sergeant fired.
The statements of the defendants did not shed excessive light on the case. Some changed their versions compared to the version originally given to the Civil Guard, and others were subject to contradictions. For this reason it is absolutely Statements scheduled for next week – forensics, investigators and ballistics experts from the Civil Guard – will be crucial in clarifying whether Alejandro Jiménez was killed by direct gunfire from the rifle assigned to the sergeant, according to their conclusion in the report. from his own platoon.
The trial started on Tuesday with the intervention of Sergeant. His defense had requested the annulment of his reports due to testifying after the experts and “breaking the chain of custody”. Both were denied. Saúl Guil admitted that he had fired his weapon during the exercise—contrary to what he had originally declared to the Civil Guard—but not in its final phase, the exercise had already ended and a new enemy had been invented on the mountainside. He added that he saw the lieutenants of both platoons firing as well.
In a defiant tone before the prosecution’s lawyers, he denied that he had shot his men in the head as a joke, describing the reports of Civil Guard experts as “false” and suggesting that he thought the bullet that killed Alejandro was a ricochet. bullet
after dismissal Captain Antonio Cabellothat he was not in the maneuvering area when the incident occurred and the next day He re-enacted what had happened before the Civil Guards arrived and ordered that the compartments on the ground be removed.. Cabello insisted on the backlash theory. Aforementioned he had seen gunshot wounds before, and the gunshot wound presented by Alejandro Jiménez did not correspond to a direct shot.
The next statement was: The commander of Alexander’s detachment, lieutenant. Contrary to what the sergeant had said, he stated that he did not use his weapon during the entire exercise., because his job was to monitor and correct positions. When asked what position the sergeant and soldiers were in, he said he couldn’t remember.
Wednesday’s session began with a statement from the lieutenant of the other platoon, who had already been promoted to captain, emphasizing that they specifically controlled their men so that they did not shoot from the side and thus avoid the bounces reaching Alejandro Jiménez’s platoon. The other defendants, a corporal and three soldiers, contradicted their positions and admitted that they had complied with the Captain’s orders with the Civil Guard to relocate in the reconstruction and to lift the compartments off the ground. None of them could remember the sergeant firing.
Forensic experts, who determined that the bullet came from the petty officer’s rifle, the plainclothes police and the Civil Guard Ballistics Laboratory experts are expected to testify next week.