Members of the Unified Association of Spanish Military (AUME) gathered outside the Ministry of Defence on Saturday to protest against the arrest of its president, Lieutenant Jorge Bravo.
The AUME had the support of the Association of Military Troops and Seamen (SMTA), the Unified Association of Civil Guard (AUGC), the Trade Union of Policemen (SUP), as well as movements such as Democracia Real YA and the Movement against Intolerance.
After the government’s decision to cut extra payments to officials, including the military, Jorge Bravo, no stranger to controversy, got into trouble for saying that cutting back on ‘unnecessary public expenses’, such as for public events and festivals, would eliminate the need to further reduce payments to military personnel.
The Army deemed this statement offensive in a number of ways, stating that it was a breach of discipline and prejudicial to the normal procedurally established channels set up to resolve disputes within the military.
This is the second time Lieutenant Bravo has been arrested for speaking to the media. In 2006 he was arrested after criticising the handling of the Cougar helicopter crash in Afghanistan in which seventeen military personnel lost their lives.