The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has declared the acquittal of the former Tourism manager of L'Espluga de Francolí final in the criminal case related to the Tourism Office. This resolution marks the end of the ordinary criminal proceedings initiated due to events reported in the municipal labor sphere in 2016.
The initial acquittal ruling, issued in June 2024 by the Provincial Court of Tarragona, had already considered that the reported events were not sufficiently proven for a conviction. The appeal filed with the TSJC, which questioned possible violations of procedural guarantees and errors in the assessment of evidence, has been entirely dismissed by the Civil and Criminal Chamber, confirming the acquittal.
The TSJC has rejected the appeal's arguments, emphasizing that the Court's ruling was well-founded and the assessment of evidence was not arbitrary. The court recalls that to overturn an acquittal, significant flaws in motivation or a clearly irrational assessment of evidence must be proven, circumstances not present in this case. Therefore, the prosecution's narrative could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, as required in criminal proceedings.
With the criminal sentence now final, the case is closed without conviction or compensation related to the reported events. The costs of the criminal appeal are declared ex officio, with no party being liable.
It is important to distinguish this criminal proceeding from the labor case initiated against the Consistory of L'Espluga de Francolí. In that separate process, the Social Court of Tarragona declared the dismissal of the former Tourism manager unfair and ordered the council to choose between reinstatement or an indemnity of 59,638.49 euros. However, this labor ruling is not yet final, as the Council has appealed it to the TSJC, and a decision is pending.
