Alerta Solidarity denounces the conviction of a pro-independence activist
The pro-independence organization Alerta Solidària has denounced that an pro-independence supporter who is awaiting a resolution on the application of the amnesty law has received a sentence. According to what they indicate, the judge of the Criminal Court number 1 of Sabadell “has rushed to present the sentence before the parties have taken a position regarding the amnesty document presented by the defense.” Jaume, who is from Cerdanyola del Vallès, has been sentenced to 6 months in prison for a crime against fundamental freedoms, for having participated in a protest against a Spanishist entity (Catalan Civil Society) that had set up a propaganda parade in the center of the UAB. The only objective fact attributable is that of having removed a Spanish flag, Alerta Solidària denounces.
Removal of a Spanish flag and condemnation
The events took place seven years ago, in the spring of 2017. Jaume was accused by the Spanish entity “of preventing them from their right to set up an information stop in the middle of the UAB campus,” explains the pro-independence organization. Societat Civil Catalana was setting up some tents, “proclaiming that we Catalans do not have the right to decide and demanding a strong hand against the coup plotters,” reported from Alerta Solidària. According to the sentence, little by little, the square was filled with people opposed to the Spanishist group and, as the text indicates, the defendant had stolen a Spanish flag from the stand. The Mossos reports show how the boy takes out the flag, throws it on the ground and leaves.
The amnesty law and the refusal of postponement
Days before the trial, on May 6, the defense already requested its postponement due to the possible impact of the Amnesty Law. The judge, however, waited until Friday the 17th to issue an order, denying the suspension on the grounds that the law was not in force. This resolution was not communicated to the defense who, on Tuesday the 22nd, showed up at trial ready to do so. Even so, in the previous questions, he reiterated the request for a postponement due to the possible impact on the imminent approval and entry into force of the amnesty law.
The judge’s response and the application of the amnesty
The judge’s response to the ruling, in addition to recalling that the law was not in force, raises doubts about its applicability in the case at hand and also casts doubt on the law’s legality: “(…) without prejudice to the fact that once approved and in force, its application may be requested, in the event that it is considered constitutional and in accordance with European Union law.” Alerta Solidària is clear that “the judge knew that we would request the application of the amnesty and, one day before it came into force, she signed the ruling.” The next day, punctually, Alerta Solidària’s lawyer requested the amnesty.
The current situation and the risk of losing the opportunity to appeal
This Tuesday, Alerta Solidària received two notifications: the conviction and the summons to the parties to give their opinion on the application of the amnesty law. “If we wait for the resolution of the debate on the amnesty, we may lose the opportunity to appeal the conviction and if we appeal, the case will go to the Provincial Court, delaying the process, making the debate on the amnesty initiated in the Criminal Court useless, which will have to be aborted due to the risk of obtaining contradictory resolutions,” the organization reports. Thus, Jaume “is serving his first conviction for political reasons, for his independence, with the Amnesty Law already in force, and this was supposed to mean, according to some, overcoming repression,” concludes Alerta Solidària.