The provincial court of Malaga has acquitted officials from the Triple A animal shelter in Marbella, for whom the prosecution demanded a prison sentence for alleged crimes of animal cruelty, falsifying documents, unqualified practice, misappropriation, incorrect administration, contravening the rights of workers and Social Security fraud. However, the judgement states that the sentence "is not final and that an appeal may be lodged against it before this court".

In his final statement, the prosecutor in charge demanded 18 years of imprisonment for Triple A's former president (B.P.) and 10 for the vice-president (A.D.), in addition to other fines and civil liabilities. The complaint raised to the court stated that "domestic animals have been sacrificed in a massive and unjustified manner, with the sole purpose of reducing costs and dedicating part of the facilities to private purposes, with the aim of making a profit".

No evidence

The court reached its verdict based on the 'in dubio pro reo' principle, according to which acquittal is justified when there is "an total lack of evidence or when the evidence that has been produced does not meet the procedural guarantees".