CCOO Madrid says it plans to file a criminal complaint over the use of pepper spray against demonstrators during Spain’s November 11 general strike. The move takes part of the dispute beyond the picket lines and toward possible judicial scrutiny of specific police actions in Madrid.
According to elDiario.es, the union describes the affected demonstrators as peaceful and links its planned action to pepper-spray use during police charges. The outlet also reported road blockages, picket detentions and police charges in several parts of Spain during the strike. Those reports establish a day of mobilisation marked by incidents, but they do not settle the legality of each intervention.
Artist Samantha Hudson separately told elDiario.es that police pepper-sprayed her during a charge on Madrid’s Gran Vía. Hudson said she was at the front without using violence and that officers pushed the group toward the pavement. That is an account from an affected person, rather than an independent reconstruction of events or a finding on police conduct.
CCOO Madrid’s decision to seek a criminal route matters because force used against pickets and demonstrators should be open to a testable account of necessity and proportionality. A protest can cause disruption without removing the duty to justify police intervention. The strongest answer to the union’s allegation will require operational records, footage and, where relevant, medical documentation, rather than competing accounts alone.
The supplied material does not say that a complaint has already been filed, what exact claims it would contain, or whether a court would accept it. It also does not include a full police explanation of the operation’s risks or the use of pepper spray. Those details will shape any assessment of responsibility. For now, the development is CCOO Madrid’s announced legal step and a specific allegation placing pepper-spray use on Gran Vía.
Sources
- elDiario.es · Source date: 2026-11-11
- elDiario.es · Source date: 2026-11-11
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-11
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