TarragonaThe judge investigating the explosion of the Iqoxe chemical plant on January 14, 2020, in which three people died and thirteen others were injured, has rejected the appeal presented by the company in which it asked to file the case and exonerate the investigated, as the newspaper ARA has been able to learn. In the appeal, Iqoxe’s defense claimed that the accusations had been “distorted” because during the investigation it had been shown that the owners of the company had acted correctly. He also complained that the shutdowns that had been made at the factory to carry out maintenance and repair tasks had not been taken into account, and also that other mistakes had been made in the investigation phase.
The company appealed last July the judge’s decision to close the first phase of the investigation, which left the chemistry one step away from the trial, because it understood that it had been shown that the company had long been concerned only with ” increase production” and “reduce costs”, and that this resulted in a series of “deficiencies” in the field of safety.
In her new letter, the judge in the case now insists that the provisional evidence proves that “a work dynamic had been established with the presence of labor pressure on the part of the company’s management, with serious breaches of labor regulations and of security”. In addition, the instructor defends the investigation of the case and recalls that “the total guarantees of contradiction have been followed, the appointment of experts, and all the indicative elements in relation to each of the investigated have been recorded”. Sources from Iqoxe have explained to the ARA newspaper that they are not satisfied with this answer and that they are already preparing a new appeal to present it to the Tarragona Court.
“The judge’s decision shows that there are sufficient elements to prosecute the company and its managers for serious breaches in the labor and safety field and also the lack of supervision by the administrations, both from the Generalitat and local “, has evaluated Eva Miguel, former councilor of the CUP (who exercises one of the accusations in the case) at the Tarragona City Council. The CUP is one of the parties that opposed the appeal presented by the company. From the anti-capitalist formation they trust that “this trial will clarify the facts and clear responsibilities and that it will be a turning point to end the impunity of chemicals and political and economic complicity”.
Up to 13 years in prison
Pending the new appeal, the case continues to follow its path. After the judge closed the investigation phase, the accusations have submitted their briefs to court number 1 in Tarragona and all, except for that of the Canonja Town Council, which has decided to withdraw, are proceeding. The private accusation carried out by the Tarragona City Council calls for between six years and nine months and 10 years in prison for the top of the chemical company, while the popular accusation of the CUP calls for 13 years for each of the three defendants All that remains to be seen is the Prosecutor’s request for punishment.
2023-10-20 13:37:22
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