Less than a month has passed since the owner of the El Chato cockfighting venue in Aspe was held in prison after his arrest by the National Police in a drug operation that extended to Albacete and to the town of Aspe. The operation resulted in 26 arrests and the seizure of 19 kilograms of cocaine along with 365,000 euros in cash. The Chato, who faces a pending trial for alleged death threats against the mayor of Aspe, was jailed on October 9 by order of a court in Albacete. This week the Audiencia of the province announced that his prison order would be set aside, granting his release after the defense arguments of indefensión presented by his lawyer, José Soler Martín, were deemed persuasive.
The lawyer argued in the appeal that the investigating court and the police had not allowed access to essential elements of the case because those records were deemed secret. The Audiencia de Albacete applied the standard established by a ruling of the Constitutional Court, which holds that access to the fundamental components of the case must be provided so defendants can challenge a deprivation of liberty.
Orders for freedom from the prison
In two separate orders issued by Section Two of the Audiencia de Albacete, all dated this Wednesday after the appeal hearing, the court voided the imprisonment of both El Chato and a relative who had been detained on the same day after a National Police operation. Both defendants are represented by lawyer José Soler, and following the ruling the case was sent to the prison authorities to arrange the release, which was to take place later that afternoon.
The Audiencia noted that the investigating court could now determine the protective measures it sees fit, including, if necessary, reinstating provisional detention as a possibility.
For the court, the decision aligns with Constitutional doctrine and indicates a violation of the suspects’ rights to liberty and to obtain effective judicial protection. It marks a breach of the fundamental procedural rules that requires annulling both the prison orders for El Chato and for his relative.
The Audiencia underscored that indefensión occurred “in a clearly evident way” and noted that the defense had not had access to essential elements of the charges against their client. This was despite the attorney’s repeated, clear requests to the examining magistrate for access, albeit within the limits imposed by the secrecy of the proceedings, but with enough content to understand the core elements of the accusation.
The Audiencia reiterated that the indefensión happened because “the only information provided was verbal and generic,” facts that the defense highlighted in the prison hearing as they filed their complaint.
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El Chato was detained in Albacete by police after he was about to receive half a kilo of cocaine from another detainee for delivery to a neighborhood in the city of La Mancha.