The Investigating Court number 15 of Barcelona has decreed the free dismissal of the complaint for insults and slander filed by the Manyanet Sant Andreu school in Barcelona against the parents of Kira López, the student of the center who took her own life in 2021 after suffering school bullying. The school filed a complaint for alleged slander and insults made by the parents on social media, stating that the school was responsible for their daughter’s death with various phrases and statements “to discredit” the institution and presented a conciliation act between the parties, in which no agreement was reached.
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In the order accessed by Europa Press, the magistrate argues that “the only thing the parents do in their statements or comments on social media is to expose the facts and the pain that the loss of their daughter represents.” She clarifies that, while it is true that they criticize the school’s actions regarding their daughter’s suicide, the comments “cannot be classified as a crime of insult or a crime of slander.”
Regarding the fact that these comments have caused reputational damage to the center, she alleges that the plaintiffs have not proven how it could have affected them, and concludes that the parents’ statements are protected by freedom of expression: “Some statements are strong and can be described as unfortunate but not criminal.”
Furthermore, the order indicates that the dismissal of the criminal case for the alleged crime of incitement to suicide was provisional, and that the parents can resort to other jurisdictions to seek a response, as they have done by filing a civil lawsuit, whose trial will be held in January 2027.