Judge keeps in prison the former Catalan vice-president and social instigators

USPA NEWS - The judge of the Supreme Court of Spain Pablo Llarena decreed on Monday that the former vice president of the regional government of Catalonia, the Republican Oriol Junqueras; the former Interior counsilor responsible for the Catalan Police, Joaquim Forn, and social leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart must remain in prison for their involvement in the failed declaration of independence of Catalonia and the risk of criminal reiteration. However, he have released on bail six former Catalan government counsilors who until now were incarcerated.

The six former counsilors must appear weekly in Court, they will be able to leave Spain and will have to go to declare each time they are summoned. All of them will be able to participate in the electoral campaign that will begin on Wednesday, December 6, for the regional elections of the 21st. Those who will not be able to participate from jail are the former Catalan vice-president, the former counsilor of Interior and the two social leaders who pushed the riots on the street in September and on October 1st. The judge considers that, although all of them complied with Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, by which the Spanish Government keeps the Catalan administration under its control, there is an evident risk of criminal reiteration. In addition, the magistrate considers that the four are "directly" linked to the "violent" activity of the crime of rebellion for which they are accused.

The judge gives special importance to the siege of the Ministry of Economy last September, when agents of the Civil Guard who had gone to the seat of the Catalan government in search of documents related to the independence challenge, by order of a judge, they were surrounded and were harassed by dozens of people who kept them captive and destroyed the Civil Guard patrol cars. According to the magistrate, these disturbances were organized and led by citizen leaders Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart, while the regional Police of Catalonia, led by former counsilor Joaquim Forn, did not respond to calls for help from the civil guards and the former vice-president Oriol Junqueras went to the place and did nothing to prevent the siege.

The judge considers the four imprisoned leaders the maximum responsible for these violent acts and others such as the siege of the hotels where the Civil Guard and National Police forces were staying or the riots on the day of October 1. "Therefore," says the judge, "in these investigated the risk of criminal reiteration reflects the likelihood that acts with serious, immediate and irreparable consequences for the community can be reproduced. The danger does not disappear with the formal affirmation that they abandon their strategy of action." The judge will study the possibility of releasing them within a time, when the sincerity of their affirmations can be verified. For the time being, his decision to keep the former Catalan vice-president imprisoned will prevent Oriol Junqueras, head of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) list, from participating in the campaign for the 21st elections.