Javier Martínez, whose son Xavi was killed on La Rambla during the 17-A attacks, has asked for material recovered from the Alcanar explosion site not to be destroyed. The request follows an application by the Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police force, to dispose of the items for security and storage reasons.

For victims’ families, preserving the material would keep it available for examination if a court orders a new investigation into the attacks. Martínez’s lawyer says a fresh police team and judicial body could need the evidence to investigate circumstances at the Alcanar house again.

The Mossos collected the objects after an explosion at the house in Alcanar, where the perpetrators of the attacks had been carrying out tests. According to VilaWeb, the force sought authorisation from the Spanish court that heard the case, citing security concerns and a lack of secure storage space in its warehouses.

Request cites parliamentary inquiry

The court sought the view of the prosecution service, which did not object to the destruction request. It did not initially ask the other parties in the case for their views, according to the report.

Martínez’s lawyer argues that the Spanish Congress inquiry into the attacks could call for the criminal investigation to be reopened. The inquiry has completed its witness hearings and is now preparing its conclusions.

“It is necessary to preserve all the objects collected from the case in case a new police team and a new judicial body have to carry out a new investigation,” the lawyer’s submission states.

The submission refers to evidence given to the congressional inquiry by Josep Lluís Trapero, who led the Mossos during the attacks. Trapero told the commission that Spain’s CNI intelligence service had informed him, hours after the attacks, that Abdelbaky Es Satty, described as the group’s leader, had been a CNI collaborator.

According to Martínez’s lawyer, that alleged link does not appear in the judicial investigation or the judgments issued in the case. The submission says the reported information could require earlier evidence and related circumstances to be reconsidered.

The lawyer says a new judicial route would be needed to establish the newly raised facts and has asked that the Alcanar evidence remain preserved while that possibility is considered.

Reported by vilaweb.cat, VilaWeb Feed.