The Third Section of the Provincial Court has ratified the sentence imposed by the Court of First Instance number 5 of Arrecife on the local police officer of the capital of Lanzarote, Narciso Pérez, for the disqualifications he made in various media outlets against the former secretary of the Arrecife City Council, Francisco Javier López. The convicted party appealed the first instance ruling, issued in June 2017, but the Court has not sided with him.
In a ruling dated November 12, the Third Section of the Provincial Court dismisses the appeal filed by Narciso Pérez and ratifies his sentence to pay compensation of 12,000 euros to the former municipal secretary of Arrecife for "illegitimate interference with the right to honor".
As La Voz published at the time, the first instance ruling stated that the local police officer called Francisco Javier López "an unacceptable official", "a windbag", "an brute and a crook", even insinuating supposedly criminal conduct such as the preparation of reports "à la carte", his appointment "for political favors" or the alleged "illegality of the appointments" for the position held by the plaintiff in the municipalities of Arrecife and Teguise. Statements that the then secretary of the Arrecife City Council considered "insulting, offensive bordering on slander and seriously undermining his right to honor" and that, according to his complaint, generated "a situation of stress and anxiety for which he had to take sick leave".
"This court understands, with the judge, that there was illegitimate interference and that the rights of the plaintiff must be protected", the Provincial Court points out after the defendant's appeal, which, among other things, alleged an "incorrect assessment" of his conduct by the judge of first instance and an "inconsistency in the assessment of the compensation requested and granted", in addition to invoking the expiration of the action, all claims that have been rejected.
"Outrageous and offensive expressions"
"The defendant has not been limiting himself during all this time (even two days before the trial) to denouncing what he understood were irregular actions in public appointments (which could be information of general interest to citizens), but rather he notoriously exceeded himself by disseminating opinions supported by outrageous and offensive expressions", the court points out.
The court adds that "regardless of whether the initial conduct of the defendant could be about the appointment of the plaintiff that he considered irregular, his action has gone far beyond the search for legality that he championed, entering the realm of personal and professional discrediting of the actor, with media attacks that did not cease even once the present procedure was initiated, all of which exceeds what could be justifiable for a criticism or assessment of the plaintiff's action as the defendant claims to have intended with his actions".
Regarding the amount of compensation, the Third Section of the Provincial Court points out that the defendant "does not express any reason why this claim should be rejected or a different amount set". "As in the rest of the appeal, he limits himself to expressing his dissenting opinion with the judicial criteria in considerations that do not conform to reality, since the judge bases her decision, takes into account the public repercussion, the personal, professional and family impact on the plaintiff and even his state of health, affected in such a way that he has required sick leave", he concludes.
Thus, the court dismisses the appeal filed by Narciso Pérez, who, in addition to ratifying the sentence to pay compensation of 12,000 euros to the former secretary of the Arrecife City Council, imposes the payment of court costs. However, an appeal is still possible against the ruling as indicated therein.
