The two women following their court appearance on Tuesday.
Andrew EdePalma27/10/2026 18:38
The two women from Santa Maria arrested in July and accused of spray-painting graffiti on the offices of five local estate agencies testified before a judge on Tuesday, maintaining that they were coerced by the Guardia Civil at the time of their arrest.
Both appeared in the Palma court at their own request. Their defence attorney, Josep de Luis, is challenging the validity of all evidence presented to the court by the Guardia Civil, arguing that it was obtained in violation of fundamental rights.
He claimed that the two women did not receive effective legal counsel and that, during the arrest, officers "spoke with them for a long time before a lawyer was present". This, he argued, was the origin of a series of alleged "spontaneous statements" included in the judicial police report.
"They were pressured into handing over personal belongings, with the warning that, if they failed to do so, they would be held in custody for longer." The women told the judge that the Guardia Civil specifically instructed them on which items of clothing to surrender from their homes - a request they complied with. "The officers would say, 'Give us a balaclava.'."
De Luis is seeking the annulment of the proceedings. The women only received legal assistance by phone and without any in-person contact with counsel; the conversation took place in the presence of the officers. "They were told they had to confess."
He pointed out that the case is limited to a charge of property damage, and that the allegation of involvement in a criminal group, as initially suggested in the police report, "did not pass the initial judicial screening". "The case should be dismissed outright because the evidence was obtained illegally."
He described the arrests as "disproportionate". "How many people have ever been arrested for a crime of property damage? There was an attempt to create a media circus, and the entire case is driven by other motives."
The arrests were shortly before the large demonstration against overtourism in Palma, the graffiti having been sprayed on the offices in Santa Maria on May 31. The women were said to be associated with the Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) movement.