The Ministry of the Interior dismissed Commissioner Antonio José Royo Subías shortly after naming him on December 9, ministerial sources confirmed. The decision was made after the existence of an old sentence convicting him of sexual harassment came to light.
“"The circumstance that has occurred can cause great harm because it may affect the confidence of victims of sexual or gender violence in policies concerning this matter."
Speaking in the Senate, in response to questions from ERC parliamentarian Sara Bailac, Marlaska explained that the competent person for the appointment was unaware of the conviction. He justified this by stating that the law mandates the erasure of such records from the file after a certain period.
The harassment occurred in the 90s, when Royo Subías was chief inspector of the Police Intervention Unit in San Sebastián, Basque Country. The Guipúzcoa Provincial Court found it proven that the inspector solicited the victim for sexual relations in exchange for professional benefits or threatened her with “worse assignments” if she refused.
The court imposed a fine of 1,080 euros on Royo and ordered him to pay 3,000 euros in compensation to the harassed officer. The sentence was later confirmed by the Supreme Court. Despite the conviction, the commissioner was never disqualified from service.
