The full civil and criminal chamber of the TSJCV has fully ratified, in accordance with the prosecutor's report, the decision it had already issued on March 16. This resolution follows the reasoned submission made by the judge in Catarroja, who is investigating the criminal case concerning the tragedy that resulted in 230 fatalities.
“"The defense of the reasoned submission made by all appellants does not go so far as to provide sufficient reasons for the chamber's error in evaluating and concluding on the position of guarantor of the immune official and the existence of serious and well-founded indications that lead to the chamber's jurisdiction."
According to the chamber, the rejection is due to the absence of evidence of action or omission in the crimes of negligent homicide for the fatalities. The TSJCV refers to the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court to affirm that the analysis of regional regulations unequivocally shows that the then head of the Valencian government was not assigned a legal duty to act in emergency management, and therefore lacked the status of guarantor.
The magistrates also dismiss the request not to apply the prerogative of immunity to the former president, as had been demanded by the majority victims' associations. The court does not find that this condition constitutes an abuse of any right. They point out that, as he was already a deputy before October 29, there is no parallel with the Gallardo case, which the High Court of Justice of Extremadura considered a legal fraud regarding immunity.
In the new resolution, the TSJCV insists that it does not find the solid and qualified indications of crime required by jurisprudence regarding the former president's alleged mediation in sending the ES-Alert message to the population on October 29. The magistrate considers this message late and erroneous in content and places it at the center of the criminal investigation into the management of the DANA. In this case, the former Minister of Justice and Interior and the former autonomous secretary of Emergencies remain the sole defendants, as they are attributed the status of guarantors regarding public safety.




