A truck driver named R.G., 38 years old and originally from Valladolid, has filed a complaint against the bodyguards of Vox leader Santiago Abascal for repeatedly hitting him at a service station in Barcelona after he criticized their president, without any threats or violent behavior from his part. According to the complaint filed with the Mossos d’Esquadra, “while one held him [the other] assaulted him, hitting him about ten times in the head with an open hand and more than five punches in the rib area with a closed fist.” The driver provided a medical report stating “Right rib contusion. Reported aggression.” The incident occurred on Thursday, 11 at around 10:30 p.m. at the El Bruc service station on the A-2 highway towards Lleida.
The truck driver was at the service station café when he went out to smoke and saw Mr. Abascal at the door. He made a comment out loud, saying “Damn, I have to run into this guy.” Three people with Abascal took him to the parking area next to a white van. One of them showed a police badge quickly, and then they searched him and accused him of carrying drugs. When they saw his ID listed Errenteria (Gipuzkoa) as his address, they started calling him “etarra”, a reference to the Basque separatist group ETA. After about 20 minutes of interrogation and searches, they started hitting him while one held him against the van and the other assaulted him.
The driver identifies the third man as the national security chief of Vox. The driver claims that the bodyguards mentioned calling the police during the interrogation but no one showed up. After being let go, he hid and called the Mossos d’Esquadra himself. They advised him to file a complaint the next day. He went to the police station in Igualada on Friday to file the complaint and also went to a hospital for a medical examination, which revealed rib pain and contusion on the right side. He was prescribed painkillers and anti-inflammatories as treatment, which he is still taking.
Police sources offer a different version of the events at the service station, stating that a person confronted Abascal and was asked to move away by one of the National Police escorts working with him. The person admitted his mistake and claimed he had been drinking and was going to sleep in his truck. The escort called the Mossos d’Esquadra and the local police and the matter was resolved. Despite these conflicting versions, the driver believes that the security cameras at the gas station should have recorded the incident. The area was well-lit even though it was night and he was taken to the parking lot.
