A protest by police officers is underway in Madrid. They are demonstrating against the intention to reverse various legal provisions from the 2015 ‘gag law’.
The toggle law was introduced by the conservative Popular Party, which was in power at the time. The Spanish government is now led by the Social Democratic PSOE.
Under the gag law, much stricter rules were introduced for protesters, with fines of tens of thousands of euros for insulting or filming officers without permission. Demonstrating without permission was also punished with sky-high fines.
According to the Spanish government, the law was supposed to promote democratic rights and freedoms, but the opposition and international organizations condemned the law.
The police officers believe that their work will be made much more difficult if the law is later reversed. Demonstrations no longer need to be registered and agents can be filmed while working. The statements of police officers are no longer automatically regarded as true.
Police forces and political parties
It is a special demonstration, says correspondent Rop Zoutberg: “It is the first time that the national police and the autonomous Basque and Catalan police demonstrate together. The Guardia Civil is also involved.” The Guardia Civil can be compared to the military police.
In addition to police officers, there are also politicians from the Popular Party and the radical right-wing party Vox. The latter causes inconvenience, says Zoutberg: “Police unions do not want them to run away with their demands.”
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