Judge Summons Former Councillor Pradas and Former Emergency Secretary Argüeso for Investigation over Dana

The head of the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 3 of Catarroja has summoned former Councillor of Justice and Emergencies Salomé Pradas and former regional secretary of the same department Emilio Argüeso to testify as suspects in the case concerning the Dana in Valencia. Meanwhile, the judge has dismissed the case against the President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, 'without prejudice to him requesting it voluntarily'.

This decision was made in two orders notified this Monday to the parties involved in the proceedings, which are being conducted for alleged crimes of manslaughter and negligence.

In the first of the rulings, the judge increases the number of fatalities to 225, along with three missing persons, to be included in these preliminary proceedings. This follows the inclusion of a woman who suffered from leukaemia, required regular blood transfusions and oxygen respiratory assistance, and died at La Fe Hospital on November 12 last year after being deprived of such assistance.

The judge reiterates in this order that the alert to the population via the EsAlert system at 20:11 on October 29 was 'late and erroneous'. She also recalls that the Dana 'was not an unforeseen meteorological phenomenon', as its progression and development were announced by Aemet, 'to the extent that the University of Valencia decided to completely suspend its activities'.

According to the magistrate, these forecasts 'should have led to a meeting in the morning' of that day of the Integrated Operational Coordination Centre (Cecopi), 'at least to warn the population'.

The order details the official and detailed information about the weather alert provided throughout the day by the regional television À Punt, including various live connections from affected localities such as Chiva or Utiel, where reports were given minutes after 15:00 of the overflow of the Gallo ravine (which downstream takes the name of Poyo) or the Magro river, respectively.

Thus, for the head of the court, the Cecopi meeting at 17:00 that day 'was held with a significant delay, in addition to the fact that the decision-making by the regional administration to alert the population occurred with even greater delay'.

The Cecopi, she continues, 'is a coordination body' in emergency matters with other administrations, but 'this is completely independent of the decisions that can be made in the field of civil protection by those who hold not only exclusive competence but also the ability to communicate protection measures to the population'.

The judge believes that announcements about the 'severity of the situation' were made 'in various areas and with sufficient notice', through Aemet, calls to the Generalitat's emergency phone 112, the media, or the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (CHJ).

'The problem would not lie in the absence of information, there was plenty, and through countless means, in real-time (...), but in the fact that faced with such information, either it was ignored, its scope was not understood (...) or the pertinent decisions were not made by those who had the power to decide,' she states.

The judge deems it necessary to take statements as suspects, on a date yet to be determined, from former Councillor of Justice and Emergencies Salomé P.T. and the former regional secretary of the same department Emilio A.T.

Regarding the former, she notes that she was entrusted as the highest authority 'with the process of adopting self-protection measures for the population', and concerning the latter, she points out that his statement is necessary given his 'organizational relevance and therefore decisiveness'.

The judge thus admits the complaint filed by the Dana Horta Sud Victims Association against Salomé Pradas and Emilio Argüeso, while dismissing it against the other accused: the director-general of Emergencies, a service chief, the deputy director of the Valencian Agency for Security and Emergency Response (AVSRE), and the president of the CHJ.

For the same reasons, she dismisses the complaint filed by the entity Hazte Oír against the president and four other CHJ officials, due to the 'absence of evidence' against them.

In a second order, the judge has decided to reject the request for the President of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, to testify as a witness or suspect, as requested by the Dana Horta Sud Victims Association and two other private accusations, respectively, without prejudice to him 'being able to request it'.

However, in view of the investigation carried out so far and the requests for proceedings made by some of the parties, the judge has decided to inform the head of the Consell, who is a member of parliament, of this resolution so that he is aware of the proceedings, in accordance with article 118 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and can request his appearance.