2013 case against Mónica and Francisco

2013 - 2017
Spain
Contents

No Trace Project > Threat Library > Repressive operations > 2013 case against Mónica and Francisco

Contents

In 2013, Mónica Caballero and Francisco Solar were arrested in Spain, accused of placing an explosive device in a church.[1] The device exploded, causing material damages and slightly injuring one person.

In a trial in 2016, Mónica and Francisco were each sentenced to 12 years in prison.[2] In a 2016 appeal, both of their sentences were reduced to 4 years and 6 months.[3] In 2017, Mónica and Francisco were expelled to Chile, their country of origin.[4]

Techniques used

NameDescription
Forensics
Facial recognition

The main evidence against Mónica and Francisco was a comparison of photos of both of them with public CCTV footage that showed their uncovered faces while they were in the subway, shortly before or after the action.[1]

House raid

During a raid on the home of Mónica and Francisco, investigators found:[1]

  • Several pieces of clothing and other accessories that Mónica and Francisco had used during the action and that were visible on public CCTV footage.
  • Several unencrypted digital storage devices that contained suspicious documents.
Mass surveillance
Video surveillance

Public CCTV footage was used by investigators to reconstruct the movements of Mónica and Francisco before and after the action.[1] This showed that they were near the action site shortly before the explosion of the device.