The Supreme Court (TS) has acquitted a teacher convicted of crimes of insulting two other teachers at the Badajoz institute, after sending a letter to the parents of her students informing them of the "numerous situations of humiliation and humiliation" that she had suffered. by his colleagues.
The teacher, who taught the subject of Spanish Language and Literature, published a letter through the Comprehensive Educational Platform of the Ministry of Education of the Government of Extremadura in which she announced her farewell to the educational center and the reasons that encouraged her to take this decision.
In the text he explained that since the previous year he had already suffered degrading treatment from the head of studies and the secretary of the institute. "I endured too long and too many situations, full of verbal and visual violence towards me, always hoping that his attitude, at some point, would change. Everything turned out to be quite the opposite and my ability to endure could not take it anymore," he said. .
As a consequence, she said that she ended up with "anxiety attacks and psycho-emotional states of infinite and unbearable pain" that led her to request medical leave. Likewise, she explains that the director of the center "was aware of what she was experiencing from the beginning" but "never tried to solve anything."
On the other hand, he warned the AMPA (Association of Mothers and Fathers of Students) that this was not the first case at this institute. "In my department, I am the second professor to suffer this situation. Together, teachers and non-teachers, we already form an excessively large group," she said.
Finally, the teacher ended the letter by explaining that she felt "a moral obligation" to inform parents what was happening at the center where their children studied and where "they spend many hours a day."
As a consequence, the prosecution filed a complaint against the teacher, since the writing "was duly published and disseminated with the intention of disturbing the fame and credit, as well as the honor, of the indicated teachers." That is why the criminal court sentenced the woman to a fine of 14 months, with a daily fee of 10 euros, for two crimes of serious libel.
However, the professor filed an appeal for protection before the Supreme Court defending that her right to freedom of expression was being violated "which extends not only to 'information' or 'ideas' received with favor or considered harmless or indifferent, but also to to those that contradict, shock or worry".
He also alleged that this is a communication directed "to those who are interested in what happens at the center, the teachers and its management team." "Why does a teacher leave the center? It is a question that every parent asks themselves," his defense posed.
Finally, the Criminal Chamber, in a ruling by Judge Manuel Marchena, agrees with the professor by understanding that the "simple reading" of the letter sent to the AMPA "makes it difficult to detect an insulting expression that deserves criminal treatment."
To this he adds that officials "must endure a greater degree of criticism", since both the head of studies and the secretary of the center were "public figures" in that context because "what happens in the teaching staff of a center school contains a relevant interest that cannot be degraded to a dispute between individuals susceptible to being repressed by criminal law".
