At least two lawyers have stated that the facilities designated for on-call legal professionals at the Court of Violence Against Women in Seville are infested with bedbugs or other insects, which have caused body-wide bites. According to the lawyers, the situation was immediately communicated to the Seville Bar Association on July 13th.
According to Carlos Rodríguez, the association's manager, the complaint was forwarded to the Regional Ministry, which holds jurisdiction as it is a judicial venue. "The Provincial Secretariat has informed us that the facilities were cleaned last week and last Friday, the 24th, and it is scheduled for Monday the 27th for pest control personnel to visit," he stated. The Bar Association maintains that the situation does not prevent work and that it is "not yet certain if they are bedbugs."
Whether they are bedbugs or other insects like fleas, the fact remains that the two affected lawyers have bodies full of bites, "and we don't know if any other lawyer who has passed through there" has suffered the same, said one of the lawyers. He emphasized the "manifestly deficient hygienic-sanitary conditions" of the premises, including "stained chairs."
The cubicle designated for lawyers during their on-call duty measures approximately five square meters and lacks a door, natural ventilation, windows, and an adequate cooling system, "circumstances that hinder the maintenance of minimum sanitation conditions," according to the complaining lawyers.
Since the first case of insect bites was reported on July 13th, the assigned lawyers have continued to provide their service in these facilities. The affected lawyers have requested the intervention of health inspection and the disinfection of the cubicle, which remains in operation for now.
