Mossos d'Esquadra

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Logo of the Mossos d'Esquadra

The Mossos d'Esquadra ( German : Geschwaderjungs ) is the police force of Catalonia . Colloquially they are also known as the Mossos (Catalan: boys ).

It is Europe's oldest civil police.

history

Mosso d'Esquadra in gala uniform
Car patrol

The Mossos d'Esquadra were founded in 1721 by Pere Anton Veciana (1682–1736), the then mayor of the city of Valls ( Province of Tarragona ). Until then, public order was regularly maintained by the military. But it was no longer guaranteed as soon as the military was used elsewhere. The first task of the troops was to protect trade routes and markets from the attacks of scattered supporters of the defeated Habsburgs in the wake of the War of the Spanish Succession . When Pere Anton Veciana died in 1736, there were already 126 Mossos in eleven cities of Catalonia. The bases were maintained by the respective community and were manned by five to nine men, the headquarters in Valls with over 20. The Veciana family ran the Mossos d'Esquadra until 1836.

In the time of Franquism , the Mozos de Escuadra existed as a group of around 50 men, more militarily oriented, which had little in common with the original Mossos. After the death of Franco and in the course of the democratization of Spain , they were again placed under the Catalan government in October 1980. In 1983 it was decided to transform the Mossos into a civilian police force for the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. Initially, activities were concentrated in Barcelona , and in 1984 the first commissioner's offices were opened in Girona , Lleida and Tarragona .

Assumption of executive power

As part of the internal political restructuring, the Mossos d'Esquadra has gradually taken over the executive power in the territory of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia since 1994 , which was previously exercised by the Spanish Policía Nacional . This process was completed in 2008, so that only the fight against terrorism, illegal immigration and some other competencies remain in the hands of the Policia Nacional and the Guardia Civil . Since then, general police tasks have been secured throughout Catalonia by 14,000 members of the Mossos d'Esquadra.

Criticism and controversy

Mosso d'Esquadra in action in the center of Barcelona, ​​in the middle an officer armed with a rifle for rubber bullets (54 mm)

Since the gradual takeover of executive power in Catalonia, the Mossos d'Esquadra have made negative headlines in the local and the Spanish press on several occasions. There were several cases of severe ill-treatment and torture , which later resulted in convictions (imprisonment) for the officers concerned. The approach to demonstrations and mass gatherings is also regularly criticized as excessive. Several incidents during student protests in Barcelona in 2009 received particular attention, as a result of which the director of the Mossos d'Esquadra, Rafael Olmos, was sacked. After the celebrations of FC Barcelona victories in May 2009, three people lost an eye due to the use of rubber bullets . The use of this weapon, which is banned in most European countries, resulted in numerous injuries, some seriously. The press chief of the local police (Guardia Urbana) was also injured by the bullets. The Mossos d'Esquadra rejected the allegations and announced that they would not forego the use of rubber bullets in the future either. These incidents sparked heated political and social debates. Another criticism came in May 2011 when the Mossos d'Esquadra broke up the protests of the Indignados , a spontaneous youth protest movement. More than 100 were injured, some of them seriously.

On October 1, 2017, when the independence referendum was held in Catalonia , some of the Mossos ignored instructions from the Spanish government. Even before the referendum, the police had ordered thousands of police officers from the National Police and the Guardia Civil to Catalonia, who then enforced the judicial measures against the referendum, sometimes by force. After the referendum, the judiciary accused Josep Lluís Trapero, head of the Mossos, of being passive in preventing the referendum. He was initially released without bail. On the evening of October 27, 2017, the Spanish government ( Rajoy II cabinet ) announced the removal of Traperos as part of the disempowerment of the Catalan regional government. The new head of the Mossos said he would follow Madrid's instructions.

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
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Special intervention group

The Special Intervention Group (Catalan: Grup Especial d'Intervenció) GEI founded in 1990 in cooperation with the German Special Operations Command GSG 9 and the Spanish Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO). The task of the GEI is to provide technical and personnel support to other police units in incidents that require special qualifications due to their risk or complexity. In 2011 the group consisted of around 45 police officers who were trained on twelve different types of weapons.

literature

  • Fabian Hinrichs: The law of the Spanish law enforcement police. Ergon-Verlag, Würzburg 2004, ISBN 3-89913-364-1 ( Würzburg juridical writings 51), (Also: Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2004).

Web links

Commons : Mossos d'Esquadra  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ El País : Seis años de cárcel para tres 'mossos' por torturas y lesiones a un detenido of November 26, 2008 (German: Six years in prison for three Mossos for torture and assault on an arrested person)
  2. ↑ La Vanguardia : Un mosso ex guardia civil es detenido por atracador of December 17, 2008 (German: arrest of a Mosso, ex-Guardia Civil, for robbery)
  3. ↑ El Periodico : Condenado a tres años de prisión un mosso por una detención ilegal of May 21, 2009 (German: A Mosso sentenced to three years imprisonment for deprivation of liberty)
  4. ↑ El Publico : Cárcel para dos mossos que maltrataron y humillaron a un detenido ( Memento of March 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) of January 12, 2009 (German: prison for two Mossos who abused and humiliated an arrested person)
  5. ↑ El Periodico: Los Mossos suman otra severa pena de cárcel por el 'caso Bikini' from March 19, 2009 (German: The Mossos add up another severe prison sentence for the "Bikini case")
  6. ↑ El Periodico: La Comisionada de Universitats cree que los Mossos d'Esquadra actuaron con desproporción of March 19, 2009 (German: The Commissioner for the Universities considers the Mossos d'Esquadra's approach to be disproportionate)
  7. ↑ El Publico: El jefe de los Mossos cae por las cargas contra los estudiantes of March 25, 2009 (German: Chief of the Mossos dismissed because of the proceedings against students)
  8. ↑ La Vanguardia: El jefe de prensa de la Guardia Urbana también resultó herido por una pelota de goma ( Memento of June 12, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) of June 2, 2009 (German: Press chief of the Guardia Urbana also injured by rubber bullet)
  9. ↑ El Periodico: Un tercer joven pierde un ojo en una carga de los Mossos en BCN of June 2, 2009 (German: A third youth loses an eye due to the actions of the Mossos in Barcelona)
  10. ↑ El Periodico: El jefe de prensa de la Guardia Urbana también fue herido por los Mossos en la celebración del Barça from June 2, 2009 (German: Press chief of the Guardia Urbana also injured by the Mossos during the celebrations of Barça)
  11. ↑ 20 minutes: Así 'limpiaron' los Mossos d'Esquadra el campamento de la plaza Cataluña de Barcelona from May 27, 2011
  12. ↑ tagesspiegel.de October 29, 2017: Who are the Catalan police officers following?
  13. ↑ El Pais: La juez envía a la cárcel a Jordi Sànchez y Jordi Cuixart, líderes de ANC y de Òmnium, por sedición , October 16, 2017, accessed on October 21, 2017 (Spanish)
  14. ↑ Catalonia crisis: Madrid resigns regional government and announces new elections. In: Deutschlandfunk . October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017 .
  15. ↑ result i fitxa. Retrieved October 25, 2019 (ca-ES).
  16. ↑ Anna Punsí: El GEI has fet en 20 anys més de 230 assalts. June 5, 2011, Retrieved October 25, 2019 (Spanish).