The former regional secretary of Emergencies of the Generalitat Valenciana, Emilio Argüeso, who has been summoned as a person under investigation by the judge handling the proceedings for the management of the dana on October 29, states that on the tragic day of the ravine collapse, the 112 «did not send any communication» to the Integrated Operational Coordination Center (Cecopi). «And this despite the fact that the director of the Emergency Coordination Center, to whom he is organically dependent, was part of the Cecopi.»
This is conveyed in a motion for reform filed before the Court of First Instance and Instruction number 3 of Catarroja (Valencia) by the defense of the former ‘number 2’ of the Conselleria of Emergencies, under the leadership of Salomé Pradas, also under investigation in the case.
In this document, dated Tuesday and accessed by Europa Press, Argüeso’s legal representation emphasizes that he «still does not have access to a copy of the case» and, therefore, is acting «in complete defenselessness.»
The motion is filed, as specified, against a ruling of March 14 «ordering the sub-directorate of emergencies to send to the Court all the audios of the calls received on October 29, 2024.»
It is worth noting that on that day, the judge issued a ruling rejecting the inclusion of all the audio recordings of calls received on ‘112’ on October 29 in the case, arguing that it could constitute an interference in communications privacy, although she noted that if there was consent from the people who called Emergency services, there would be no such interference.
In any case, the defense of the former regional secretary argues that the purpose of the investigation evidence is «to investigate allegedly criminal acts as well as to prepare for a possible trial» and points out that in the case, «there are currently only two individuals under investigation,» in the case of Argüeso «without us knowing for sure the facts that are being attributed to him.»
«And the fact that your Honor deems sufficient to initiate the investigation the alleged delay in sending an alert SMS to the population regarding the alleged date on which a message was supposedly received at the Cecopi from Aemet warning said organization about the Barranco del Poyo, does not justify the requested measure,» he considers.
«AUTHENTIC SOCIAL ALARM»
Furthermore, the lawyer argues that, based on his experience in «major cases,» if the court receives the recordings, they will end up leaking. «And given the characteristics that we can all assume of these calls (calls from people totally distressed by the situations they were experiencing), they will generate genuine social alarm, in addition to the harm they may cause to the victims of the past dana.»
In this line, he rejects that this will serve to clarify the investigated facts: «It will not clarify anything because, as my client assures me, and from what I see, your Honor has not investigated: The 112 did not send any communication to the Cecopi, despite the fact that the director of the Emergency Coordination Center, to whom he is organically dependent, was part of the Cecopi,» he asserts.
At this point, he asks the judge to investigate beforehand whether any of these messages were communicated to the Cecopi «because the reality is that there was no communication of these messages or any other to the Cecopi,» he insists.
«And, therefore, even though it is undeniably valuable material for historians, journalists, etc., it cannot shed any light on the investigated facts,» he concludes.
