Canary Islands Lawyer Investigated for Offering Bounty to Attack Public Officials
The Civil Guard is investigating a Tenerife lawyer who allegedly offered a 3,000-euro bounty on TikTok for attacks against several high-profile public officials and judicial figures.
Public officials and judicial figures in the Canary Islands are facing serious threats after a lawyer posted videos on TikTok calling for violence against them. According to the newspaper El Día, Yurena Carrillo—a lawyer based in Tenerife—publicly offered 3,000 euros to anyone willing to attack several high-profile officials.
The individuals targeted include José Luis Sánchez-Jáuregui, the Chief Prosecutor of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife; Supreme Court Prosecutor María Farnés Martínez Frigola; Javier Arribas Altarriba, the presiding magistrate of the Court of First Instance of La Orotava; and Adolfo González Pérez-Siverio, the Mayor of Los Realejos.
The Civil Guard has launched an investigation into these threats, treating them as a potential crime of inciting murder against public authorities. Once their analysis of the videos is complete, the findings will be sent to the courts in Puerto de la Cruz.
Legal experts stress that this case goes well beyond the boundaries of free speech. Direct incitement to violence against public servants is a criminal offense and is not protected by law. In her posts, which included her personal phone number, Carrillo claimed the threats were in response to how her personal legal cases were handled, and she accused one of the prosecutors of being a "potential murderer."
Carrillo has a history of professional conflict. Judicial sources report that she was previously removed from the public defender roster in La Palma following multiple disciplinary proceedings for ethical violations and unprofessional behavior toward colleagues. Her dispute with the Mayor of Los Realejos stems from an administrative case involving animal welfare, which resulted in the city council seizing her pets after neighbors complained about unsanitary conditions.
In response to the ongoing intimidation, Mayor Adolfo González has filed a formal complaint with the National Police. He is seeking a restraining order and a permanent ban on the lawyer’s social media use to put an end to two years of harassment.