Barcelona court acquits former Catalan health officials over pandemic police vaccination delay

Verdict and acquitted officials

The Sixth Section of the Barcelona Provincial Court has fully acquitted former Catalan health minister Alba Vergés and former health minister Josep Maria Argimon of criminal prevarication charges related to the Covid-19 vaccination campaign. The ruling also cleared three other former senior officials from the Catalan Health Department: former health secretary general Marc Ramentol, former Servei Català de la Salut director Adrià Comella, and former department services director Francesc Xavier Rodríguez. In the ruling drafted by Judge José Manuel del Amo, the court concluded that there was no evidence demonstrating a criminal intent to discriminate against members of the Spanish National Police or the Civil Guard deployed in Catalonia.

There is no proof of an intent to discriminate against state police bodies.

Health criteria and logistical disputes

The legal dispute centered on the Catalan administration's decision on 24 March 2021 to suspend a vaccination campaign scheduled for 25 March 2021 for state security forces. The court determined that the reorganization was grounded in objective public health requirements rather than arbitrary administrative discrimination. Health authorities paused the inoculation of Group 6 essential workers to prioritize the general population aged 60 to 65, who presented a higher risk of mortality from Covid-19. This adjustment followed updated medical guidance concerning AstraZeneca vaccine side effects and age cohorts across Spain. While the judges recognized that a clear disparity emerged in vaccination percentages between local Mossos d'Esquadra officers and state police officers, they noted that state forces had requested an ad-hoc vaccination mechanism. This specific request created administrative and logistical complexities that contributed directly to the delay before the contentious-administrative section of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia ordered the regional government to proceed with state police inoculations.

Prosecution withdrawal and legal costs

The public prosecution service initially sought 12 years of disqualification from public office for Vergés and Argimon, who served as public health secretary at the time before later becoming health minister. However, prosecutors withdrew all charges against all defendants at the conclusion of the oral trial. Police unions acting as private prosecutors, including JUPOL, JUCIL, and the SPP, maintained their accusations and requested disqualifications ranging between 12 and 15 years. The court dismissed every claim brought by the unions, affirming that the administrative actions could not be classified as arbitrary or unjust under criminal law. Furthermore, the tribunal ordered JUPOL and JUCIL to pay the legal defense costs for Francesc Xavier Rodríguez due to reckless litigation. The judges emphasized that the unions maintained accusations against a coordinating official who held no executive decision-making authority, even after the public prosecutor and other parties had withdrawn all claims against him.

The decision cannot be deemed arbitrary and unjust.