The 2017 Valencian Language Demonstration Case: Trial Delays, Agreements, and Public Disorder
The 2017 incident involving a group aligned with far right and neo-Nazi ideologies during the October 9 rally in support of the Valencian language led to a trial that was postponed because the restraining orders in place did not align with the alleged offenses. Reports indicate that 26 of the 28 defendants were covered by the eligibility agreement under consideration.
Two defendants continued to deny the charges, while the other 26 sought to acknowledge the facts to obtain a reduced sentence without serving prison time. Yet inconsistencies in the restraining orders to be imposed alongside penalties called the agreements into question, forcing the oral hearing to be postponed to a new date of March 4, 2024.
With most defendants having reached agreements, the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and the special accusers expressed that prison terms could be avoided for now. Yet concerns remain when some defenses argue that the conformity certificate imposes a ban on approaching within 300 meters of the associations involved in the protests and any demonstrations they organize. One defense attorney noted that the defendant effectively faced exile from the Valencia area.
Sources cited by the newspaper suggest that prison sentences could be suspended on condition that the defendants jointly cover all legal liabilities and expenses and have not committed a crime in the past three years. Many defendants offered settlements in the final days before the trial to secure reduced sentences, with some agreements split into installments. Additionally, each defendant is enrolled in a retraining program focusing on human rights, and progress appears hindered by paralysis among the defendants.
The Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office initially sought sentences ranging from three to seven and a half years for hate crimes, coercion, injuries, threats, and disruption of public order. Among those who could receive reduced penalties is Vicente Javier EC, known as El Alfarrasí, who faces a potential seven and a half year term. The president of the Curva Nord association was also expected to receive a similar sentence under the prosecutor’s proposal.
As the City of Justice prepared for a rally against fascism, police presence remained high to prevent clashes between radical groups and anti-fascists. El Alfarrasí, a former leader of Yomus, a now-defunct Valencia CF ultra group, confronted protesters and delivered a defiant gesture, urging onlookers not to cry.
The disturbances date back to 2017, before the October 9 commemorations, when one defendant who had a prominent media profile published messages on social networks urging like-minded individuals to attend Plaza San Agustín for the Valencia protest in opposition to the Comissió 9 d’Octubre event in support of Valencià. Worrying messages included calls to disrupt the celebration and warnings directed at those who favored Valencia without the Estelada flag.
The call attracted a sizable crowd gathered behind the Yomus CN10 banner near the Mestalla stadium, with prosecutors stating that the objective was to prevent the demonstration and confront its participants due to ideological differences. The protesters clashed with the crowd, and the police cordon briefly collapsed as some individuals pushed through, sparking a stampede that disrupted the planned route for the march.
After the initial police intervention, the demonstration proceeded toward Colón Street with the police safeguarding the protesters at all times. Although the planned conclusion near Plaza de América with the ceremonial reading of the statue of King Jaume I did not occur, the event went on in a restricted form.
Around 5 p.m., while organizers prepared an information desk for the newspaper on the edge of a kiosk, a defendant wearing a Spanish flag as a cape berated the journalists, demanding to know their identities and attempting to seize printed copies. In another instance, a defendant attacked reporters and urged others to confiscate materials from the square, where a crowd displaying National Socialist tattoos gathered under the banner of a far-right faction.
In a separate confrontation, a defendant attempted to seize journalistic material and threatened violence with a knife. A bystander captured the moment as a person with a masked face pushed the aggressor to the ground. Moments later, the violence intensified with kicks directed at two protesters and a large flagpole being used as a weapon against others. A graphic editor documenting the events was targeted as well, with a group of defendants snatching his camera and forcing him to the ground by throwing a table and a bar sign onto the street. A journalist recording with a mobile phone faced a threat of harm from another participant who brandished a knife in a display of intimidation. The scene included a direct threat, with a defendant indicating intent to sever the journalist’s neck.
Several protesters who tried to intervene found themselves overwhelmed as attackers pursued them and subjected them to blows. One individual tripped and fell, while another was knocked down by a combined effort that included physical strikes and the use of a four-bar flagpole. A bystander who attempted to shield victims was also attacked as multiple defendants closed in, and a confrontation occurred around the area where a photographer was documenting the events.
In another moment, a defendant approached a graphic editor to seize his material, while others attacked journalists and attempted to seize equipment. The tense atmosphere persisted as assailants attacked and pushed individuals to the ground, and threats were issued publicly in the street. The overall sequence of aggression left journalists and protesters exposed to a volatile and dangerous scene that day, underscoring the gravity of the events surrounding the 2017 rally.