The full report is available for download here.

The Report on Institutional Violence 2024:

EXPLAINS: that the judicial system fails to effectively investigate allegations of ill-treatment and torture and of other crimes involving infringements of human rights committed by public officials, whether they be members of the police and security forces, the prison service or institutions such as the National Intelligence Centre.

Among other information, this report details that:

• In 32 of the 49 criminal cases taken on by Irídia, the investigating judge has dismissed the case without a full and thorough investigation. In 24 of these cases, investigations have been reopened by a higher court months or even years after the initial decision.
• The Public Prosecutor’s Office has opposed the investigation in 20 of the 49 cases, has failed to act in 17 cases, and only in 12 has it taken any kind of active role in investigating or bringing the case to trial.
• The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia has issued just one forensic medical report in accordance with the standards of the Istanbul Protocol. In a further 20 cases in which it has issued a report, these have not followed said standards, nor was the affected person examined by medical staff. In the remaining cases, either the investigating judge has not sought any report or no investigations to the effect have been carried out.

CONCLUDES: that impunity has a revictimising effect on those who, in seeking justice, redress and the guarantee of non-repetition, bring their cases to the attention of the courts. As such, it erodes trust in institutions, weakens the rule of law and encourages a culture of tolerance of this type of abuse.

RECOMMENDS: the implementation of structural reforms to the judicial system, with the establishment of additional and more comprehensive training plans for judges, prosecutors, legal aid professionals and forensic doctors, the creation of a Special Prosecutor’s Office for Institutional Violence and of an independent mechanism to monitor police conduct.