Today, the political analyst Sarah Santaolalla has published on her social media a photograph in which she appears with her arm in a sling and in which she claims to have been the victim of an alleged aggression by Vito Quiles and his companions. In said publication, she maintains that the violence that, according to her complaint, she had been suffering would no longer be solely verbal, but would have reached a physical nature.
It should be remembered that Santaolalla had already filed several complaints against Quiles for alleged harassment crimes. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) has joined this new complaint, as the altercation occurred at the exit of an event to which the analyst had been invited by said political party.
From the criminal-legal point of view, and awaiting what the judicial investigations determine, the reported facts could constitute two crimes that it will be up to Spanish justice to clarify.
First, a presumed harassment could be appreciated, regulated in article 172 and following of the Penal Code. This criminal offense requires:
a) A violent conduct, either through physical force (vis physica) or intimidation (vis compulsiva), exercised directly or indirectly on the victim. In this context, the complainant refers, on the one hand, to an alleged physical aggression that would have required medical assistance —a circumstance that would be evidenced by the use of a sling— and, on the other, repeated intimidation situations, such as stalking in public places or to her home, as well as the insistence on obtaining statements despite her refusal.
b) A purpose consisting of preventing the victim from doing what the law does not prohibit or forcing them to do what they do not wish, whether just or unjust. According to what was stated, the alleged purpose would have been to force the recording of a video with statements that Santaolalla did not want to make, which, if proven, could constitute this element of the offense.
Secondly, the facts could also constitute an alleged crime of injury, provided for in article 147.1 of the Penal Code. If it is confirmed that the injuries required, in addition to initial medical assistance, medical or surgical treatment, the crime could be classified as less serious, punishable by prison sentences of up to three years or a fine of up to twelve months.
In any case, it will be up to the judicial bodies to determine how the reported facts occurred and, where appropriate, the eventual criminal liability that could derive from them.
