The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling against EU parliamentarian Luis Pérez Fernández, known as Alvise, ordering him to pay €10,000 in damages to Jesús María Gómez Martín, the head of the Canary Islands police, for unlawfully infringing on his right to privacy and image.
The ruling stems from a Telegram post on 1 March 2023, shared on Alvise’s account, which included a photo of Gómez Martín alongside an extract from his official police biography and another image of him with his partner in front of a mirror.
The message accompanying the post stated: “Here you have the recently appointed Chief of Police of the Canary Islands by the PSOE, next to someone who appears to be his twin. He was promoted after the suitcase scandal involving Delcy and Ábalos (during which he was responsible for the border control at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport that night). Guess which court his sister is in. It’s not personal, politicians and mercenaries. I’m just sending a message: We are coming for you. More tomorrow.”
The post attracted tens of thousands of views and received over 670 comments, many of which were described as “insulting and degrading” by the Supreme Court.
A lower court in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria found that Alvise had indeed violated Gómez Martín’s rights and held him responsible for damages to his reputation caused by third-party comments on his post. Consequently, Alvise was ordered to remove the publication, publish the court decision, and pay the €10,000 in damages, a decision that was fully upheld by the Provincial Court.
The Supreme Court has now made this ruling final by rejecting Alvise’s appeal and additionally ordering him to cover the court costs.
