24-hour lawyer for arrests in Alicante

What arrest is and how long it can last

Arrest (detención) is the deprivation of liberty ordered by the police or a judge in order to investigate an act that may be a criminal offence. It is not a conviction and it does not mean you will go to prison. It is a provisional measure with strict legal limits.

The law states that preventive detention may not last longer than strictly necessary to clarify the facts and that, in any event, within a maximum of 72 hours the arrested person must be released or brought before a judge (Article 520.1 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal). The police report (atestado) must record the time of arrest and the time the person was brought before the court. That detail is important: if the time limit is exceeded, the detention may be unlawful.

In Alicante, the arrested person is normally held at a police station or Guardia Civil post and then taken before the Investigating Section of the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Instancia) that is on duty, known until 2025 as the duty investigating court (juzgado de instrucción de guardia).

Your rights as an arrested person

From the very first moment you must be informed in writing, in simple language and in a language you understand, of the acts you are accused of, the reason for your arrest and your rights (Article 520.2). The most important are:

• The right to remain silent: not to make a statement, not to answer certain questions, or to make a statement only before the judge.
• The right not to incriminate yourself and not to plead guilty.
• The right to choose a lawyer and to be assisted by them without delay. If you do not choose one, a duty lawyer (abogado de oficio) will be assigned to you.
• The right to inform a family member or any person you wish that you have been arrested and where you are.
• A free interpreter if you do not speak Spanish and, if you are a foreign national, to have your consulate informed.
• A medical examination by the forensic doctor.
• Access to the essential elements of the case file so that you can challenge your detention.

No officer may recommend a particular lawyer to you. The lawyer you appoint must attend the place of detention within a maximum of three hours of being instructed (Article 520.5). You also have the right to speak to them in private before making a statement to the police, the public prosecutor or the judge (Article 520.6.d), except in exceptional cases of incommunicado detention.

What we do when you call us

We have assisted more than 800 arrested persons over more than twenty years of practice. When you call us, the work begins at that very moment:

1. We locate the arrested person and inform the police station or Guardia Civil post that we are taking on their defence. If preferred, the arrested person can ask for us to be contacted by giving our name.
2. We go to the place of detention and speak with them alone before any statement is made.
3. We review the reason for the arrest, the time limits and whether their rights have been respected. Together with them we decide whether it is best to make a statement or remain silent.
4. We assist them during the police statement and during any identification or reconstruction procedures, and we ask for any irregularity to be recorded in the official record.
5. We accompany them before the duty court, prepare their statement to the judge and defend their liberty at the hearing.
6. We keep the family informed, always with the arrested person’s authorisation and respecting confidentiality.

Our team will assist you in your language, which matters in an area with so many foreign residents. If the arrested person is not Spanish, see also our page on criminal lawyers for foreigners.

Duty court: what can happen

When the arrested person is brought before the duty judge, a statement is taken with their lawyer present. From there, the usual outcomes are:

• Release without measures, with the proceedings remaining open. Often the person continues in the proceedings as a suspect (investigado); we explain this on our page on being summoned as a suspect.
• Release with precautionary measures: regular reporting to the court, surrender of passport, a restraining order or bail.
• Speedy trial: for offences such as theft, robbery, driving offences or trespass to a dwelling, the case may be processed as urgent proceedings and come to trial within a few days. We explain this in speedy trials and minor offences.
• Pre-trial detention (prisión provisional): only if the public prosecutor or another prosecuting party requests it and the requirements of Article 503 are met, such as an offence carrying a maximum sentence of two years or more and a specific risk of flight, destruction of evidence or reoffending. The decision is taken at a hearing that must be held within 72 hours of the person being brought before the court (Article 505), at which we defend the arrested person’s liberty and propose alternatives.

If pre-trial detention is ordered, the order can be appealed, and the appeal is processed as a priority (Article 507). We deal with this on our page on criminal appeals.

If the arrest relates to a gender-based or domestic violence matter, see our specialist website: abogadaviolenciadegenero.com.

Habeas corpus: when the detention is unlawful

Habeas corpus is an urgent procedure for a judge to review a detention immediately. It is governed by Organic Law 6/1984 (Ley Orgánica 6/1984, reguladora del procedimiento de habeas corpus) and applies, among other cases, when someone is detained without the legal grounds being met, for longer than the legal time limit or without their rights being respected (Article 1).

It can be requested by the arrested person, their spouse or partner, their children, parents or siblings, the Public Prosecutor’s Office or the Ombudsman (Defensor del Pueblo). A written application or an appearance in person is enough and a lawyer is not required (Article 4), although drafting it well helps. The judge must decide within 24 hours of admitting it (Article 7).

If a family member has been arrested

It is normal for the family not to know where the arrested person is or what is happening. This is what you can do:

• Call us with their full name, the place and the approximate time of the arrest.
• Have their identity documents ready, a fixed address and, if available, an employment contract or proof of municipal registration (empadronamiento): these help to defend their liberty before the judge.
• Don’t discuss the case with third parties by phone or message.
• If they are a minor, the law provides for their parents to be informed and for them to be placed at the disposal of the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office; see our page on juvenile criminal liability.

The police are not obliged to give you details of the case, but the arrested person does have the right to have you told where they are being held.