Andorra court convicts police of unlawful detention over pyjama arrest

The Corts Tribunal has convicted two police officers of unlawful detention for detaining a woman in her pyjamas during a 2020 vehicle seizure, imposing suspended prison sentences and ordering them to pay her €1,500 in moral damages.

The court handed down 19 and a half months of conditional imprisonment on Wednesday, alongside a one-year suspension of public rights for both officers. They were acquitted of the separate charge of degrading treatment. The ruling also establishes the officers' civil liability, requiring them to compensate the woman for emotional harm.

The case stemmed from an incident in December 2020 at a public-access private parking lot on Carrer Callaueta in Andorra la Vella. The property owner approached the officers as they executed a vehicle seizure for a bailiff. Tensions escalated into an argument, with the officers perceiving insults and a challenge to their authority. They took her into custody without permitting her to change clothes, transporting her straight to the station in her pyjamas and jacket.

During the trial, the officers maintained they adhered to established police protocols, a point senior officials corroborated in testimony. Prosecutors had withdrawn their case beforehand, deeming any misstep "invincible" and rooted in systemic training issues rather than personal misconduct. The defence pushed for outright acquittal, framing it as a procedural oversight.

The private prosecution, acting for the woman, countered that the officers—trained in rights protections—should have prioritised constitutional safeguards over outdated internal guidelines. Those rules, updated 2.5 years later, now classify minor offences as infractions handled via voluntary, consented attendance at headquarters. The detention, they argued, smacked of retaliation to humiliate her, violating laws that supersede police circulars.

It sought 22.5 months' suspended terms and 10.5 years' disqualification, but the tribunal opted for lighter penalties limited to the detention charge, while addressing the harm through the damages award. The decision scrutinised police procedures and closes the first-instance proceedings.