Spain’s State of Alarm ends with more than 1.2 million fines and 9,000 arrests for non-compliance

State of Alarm in Spain comes to an end with 1.2 million fines and more than 9,000 arrests for non-compliance of measures imposed to combat the spread of coronavirus.

OVER the last three months, flouting confinement has led to a siginificant number of proposals for sanctions that can lead to fines ranging from €600 euros for unauthorised travel to €10,400 for organising or taking part in group activities that pose a risk of contagion.

By autonomous community, and with data from mid-June, Andalucia has the highest number of sanctions, with just over 194,000, ahead of Madrid with about 183,000, and the Valencian Community (around 167,000).

The three communities represent almost half of the total (48 per cent) of fines and the majority of arrests, with more almost 1,500 each.

However, experts predict a flurry of appeals due to the different interpretations of some aspects of the State of Alert law.

The Citizen Security Law, known as the Gag Law, has been used by officers to denounce flouters, and some lawyers question whether a specific sanctioning regime should have been created.

Gabriel Doménech, Professor of Administrative Law at the University of Valencia, told Efe the regulation has been “insufficient” and the Government has tried to use this sanctioning regime “with debatable interpretations”.

While a professor in the same field at the National University of Distance Education (UNED), highlighted the problems in the classification of the offence, generally for disobedience, and anticipates appeals.