The representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office decided this Monday to withdraw the charges against the former Catalan Health Ministers, Alba Vergés and Josep Maria Argimon, as well as against the former Director General of Health, Marc Ramentol, and the former Director of the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut), Adrià Comella, in the trial for the Covid vaccination plan applied to national police officers and civil guards.
During the presentation of the reports and final conclusions, the Prosecutor's Office nullified the crime of prevarication and the request for 12 years of disqualification from holding public office that weighed on the four former high-ranking health officials.
The popular accusers, for their part, have maintained their request for 15 years of disqualification for Vergés, Argimon, Comella, and Ramentol. However, all accusers, except Jupol, have opted to withdraw the accusation they initially directed against the former Director of Health Services, Xavier Rodríguez.
Debate on alleged discrimination in vaccination
The five defense teams have insisted that the criteria used to vaccinate the different police forces did not respond to preferences or reasons unrelated to public health. "There can be no talk of discrimination," stated Vergés's defense, emphasizing that the decisions were made based on health criteria, given that people over 60 years of age accounted for 70% of ICU admissions.
In the same vein, they have stressed that the lists of national police officers and civil guards "arrived later" and that the priority of the vaccination strategy was to reduce mortality and "save lives."
Stance of the popular accusers
Jupol, as a popular accuser, has maintained that there are still indications of prevarication and has reproached the delay in receiving the census of state personnel. In their opinion, health and protection criteria for essential workers should have been prioritized over their "political identity."
The popular accusation brought by Jucil has argued that political leaders applied a "materially discriminatory" criterion by reinforcing the vaccination of Mossos d'Esquadra, local police officers, and firefighters, in contrast to the treatment received by civil guards.
Last word of the accused and trial ready for sentencing
The oral hearing concluded this Monday. In her final statement, former minister Vergés stressed that, during the management of the pandemic, the only objective guiding her decisions was the protection of the population's health, and she thanked her team for the joint work carried out: "I am very proud of everything we did."
Argimon chose not to exercise his right to a final statement, and the court has reserved judgment.