• 'Crime of Polop'.A Mercedes and 37,000 to silence the protected witness, as he denounced

When Polop Mayor Alejandro Ponsoda's crime investigation was climaxing, Osi (the protected witness) expressed his fear of reprisals in the form of a complaint that was incorporated into the proceedings. I was afraid of the future, what could happen when everything was over. "He is firmly convinced that these people may be waiting for the outcome of the trial to comply with the threats, since they are extremely dangerous people," the complaint said, echoing their fears.

The Central Operating Unit (Uco) of the Civil Guard cemented the case based on their testimony and built proceedings that ended with Juan Cano, 'number two' of Ponsoda, facing 25 years in jail for plotting the crime. Last Tuesday, the popular jury declared him not guilty along with the other six men who shared the bench with him. Precisely, ten years ago Osi drew this same scenario when he told the Civil Guard his fears.

He was scared and assured that they had tried to buy him with a car and 37,000 euros to stop collaborating with Justice and that he had received errands: «As you have not accepted to remove the complaint, neither the car, nor the money, we will see what happens ... »or« you have a problem not with the law (...) they want to kill you for what you have done », as stated in the proceedings.

He feared for his life and that of his family and concluded that the real threat would come when the sentence was handed down. Given the seriousness of what he denounced, the judge decided to approve that his identity be changed so that he could start a new life. His girlfriend, also a protected witness, was regularized in Spain. So Osi, diminutive of a much more powerful name, is no longer Osi. But, do you still have protection? How does the protected witness program work in Spain?

To begin, it is necessary to banish the image of this figure that arrives from the United States, where it is much more consolidated and from which there is another conception . Unlike what happens here, in North America the witness is protected before, during and after the judicial process . In Spain you are protected only before and during the process. This has a lot to do with the fact that the US law dates back to 1960 and that it has a millionaire budget, something that guarantees the future. This protection is particularly relevant in cases of terrorism and drug trafficking.

In Spain, except for very few exceptions, the protected witness is not given a house, a new job or an amount of money ready to start from scratch. The protection, as provided by law and backed by judges and prosecutors consulted by this newspaper, ends when the process is extinguished . The fact that Osi was given a new identity can be considered as something residual, since it is not usually so.

The harassment and threats that the protected witness in the Polop case says he received so he would not continue speaking are common. This is expressed by the majority of protected witnesses in this country. The general feeling of not being safe is not an isolated feeling . As recognized by an expert magistrate " in this field we still have much to do ." The regulations governing this figure date from 1994 and, in the opinion of many, it has become obsolete. Organic Law 19/1994, of December 23, on the Protection of Witnesses and Experts does not end being deployed as contemplated by the four articles that comprise it. «It should be reviewed. Definitely".

The problem is that this has not been a central debate for any government , despite the importance of protected witnesses. Without their testimonies, many investigations would have no future neither police nor judicial. Therefore, in very complex procedures, related to terrorism, drug trafficking mafias, people trafficking networks or major media repercussions, they are elusive when faced with the risk of reprisals and feel that their backs are not sufficiently covered.

When a judge grants a witness the status of a protected person, a number is assigned to him and his real name is entered in a separate envelope that is kept in judicial headquarters. However, the regulations that provide that if either party requests to know your identity, there is an obligation to give it .

And how does it all start? The starting point is the complaint of a person. After making the relevant checks, it is the Civil Guard and the Police who determine if it is a potential protected witness. If they decide that it is so, they communicate it to the magistrate who is directing the matter and it is he who decides it finally.

In the matter of Polop's crime, Osi remained under the umbrella of a protected witness practically since he began collaborating with the agents in October 2009, two years after the murder of Alejandro Ponsoda. In December 2012, three years later, the Uco formally requested the magistrate to be given a new identity. And she did not hesitate to process it.

As in many other matters of this nature, the defendants knew who it was since he himself appeared before the agents as the brothel doorman in which, he said, the crime was orchestrated and witnessed its details. The Polop case seems extinct even though the old Osi continues to fear it.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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