On Tenerife, a guardsman is being tried for desertion: protests over the application of the military code.

On Tenerife, on October 14, a Civil Guard officer will be tried. He is accused of abandoning his post without permission. He faces up to six months in prison for this.

The hearing will begin at 9 a.m. in the Almeida barracks, in the capital of Tenerife. The subpoena received by journalists states that if the man does not appear without a valid reason, he will be arrested.

The Unified Association of Civil Guard Employees (AUGC) is planning a rally near the barracks on the day of the trial. They want to support their colleague and protest against the application of the Military Criminal Code to the Civil Guard.

According to the AUGC, in the summer of 2024, this employee was involved in an accident in Playa de las Américas, in the south of Tenerife.

He was on sick leave, but was denied a transfer closer to home. In addition, disciplinary proceedings were opened against him for going home to mainland Spain.

The association claims that he returned to the island every 10 days to provide medical certificates, as required. He was always in touch and answered calls.

However, the day after he was allowed to transfer from Tenerife to Guadalajara, the commander decided to refer his case to court.

The trial takes place against the backdrop of discussions about whether the military code should be applied to civilians.

Recently, the Sumar party proposed that Congress consider excluding the military from the application of the military code in peacetime.

The AUGC also believes that the Military Criminal Code should not apply to members of the armed forces, except in certain cases. They argue that 99% of their work is police functions, not military ones.

In 2007, Article 5.1 of the Military Criminal Code was amended to apply to the Civil Guard only in exceptional cases: in times of war, under siege, during military missions, or as part of the Armed Forces.

But in 2016, this decision was overturned. Since then, according to the Unified Association of Civil Guard Employees, the command has an "instrument of abuse of power to coerce agents," which is an "anomaly in the rule of law."

They argue that most incidents can be dealt with under the disciplinary code of the Civil Guard, which is already "quite strict," or through the ordinary Criminal Code, if necessary.

But the military process, the association emphasizes, "can have serious consequences."