Catalan Independence Trial: Summary Most Important Testimonies May 22 and 23

May 22, Day 45 of Trial 

Wednesday’s session started with the testimonies of Catalan government officials and ended with the beginning of the “expert phase.”

– Jordi Martínez Soler, a social media advisor for the Parliament, explained that he managed Forcadell’s social media accounts in Autumn 2017 and explained the content of the tweets he tweeted during that time.

– Ricard Gené, who was part of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC)’s secretariat at the same time as Carme Forcadell, explained that the role of Forcadell, currently accused of rebellion, was as a ”representative and not an executive.”

“Forcadell was not involved in elaborating the ANC’s roadmap,” he said.

– Rosa Maria Sans, who is the head of management of the use of government facilities and equipment by non-profit organizations at the Catalan Department of Labour, Social Affairs and Families, explained how was his work during the 2017 Autumn.

– The expert phase started with the Supreme Court judges overlooking some of the complaints from the defense, who called on the court to dismiss some experts on the grounds that they had not seen their reports before the session, which violated the right of their clients to have a proper defense.

– An expert affirmed that publicity material commissioned for the 2017 referendum was actually produced, whether or not it was later paid for by public money.

If the administration does not pay for something commissioned, an “irregularity” and ‘unjust enrichment are committed’, added the Spanish tax official

NOTE: The tax expert witnesses were all called by the accusation and one of them used to work as an advisor for the former Spanish right-wing government.

– John Paul Lederach and Jesus Castañar, experts on mass non-violent movements, gave evidence about the character of the 20 September 2017 protests in front of government ministries following numerous illegitimate raids by the Spanish police. They both affirmed that the protests were an “act of persuasion” and not an act of civil disobedience. They said there was no violence committed against police officers and no attempts to seize public buildings.

May 23, Day 46 of Trial

The day started with the testimonies of experts called by both the prosecution and the defense.

– Josefina Valls and Xavier Urios, director of services and chief lawyer at the Catalan governance ministry, said that the ministry didn’t spend money for the referendum.

– Pau Villòria, head of the Department of Enterprise during the 2017 referendum, explained that his department did not spend money for the referendum nor did they allow any of their venues to be used for that purpose.

– Experts called in by the lawyers of the former Catalan Labour Minister Dolors Bassa said that they could not establish a rental cost for public venues that were used during the referendum since these were not bound by rental contracts.

– Doctors said none of the 60 cases they examined related to Spanish police officers were “serious” injuries. In 32 cases, no treatment was recommended. A further 11 cases were finger sprains. Others involved bruising.

Additional Information

The Spanish Supreme court communicated the defense that the trial of the 12 Catalan pro-independence leaders is set to come to a close on 11 June.

The defense will take the stand for their closing arguments on 10 June, before the defendants make their closing remarks on 11 June. The Supreme Court ruled that each of the 12 accused parties will be given 15 minutes to address the court directly before the proceedings are over until the sentencing.

Catalan Independence Trial: Summary Most Important Testimonies May 13 and 14

May 13, Day 43 of Trial

The day started with testimonies from citizens who voted in the 2017 independence referendum followed by a declaration from Mireia Boya, a former MP of CUP party.

– Mireia Boya explained that she participated in the demonstration in front of the Catalan Finance Ministry on September 20, 2017, to protest against the detention of Catalan government officials. “The atmosphere was festive. It was easy to get to the door,” she said.

Boya also explained that she went to “defend” the CUP headquarters the same day when she heard that the Spanish National Police was trying to enter the building without a court order.

– Francesc Esteve, the head of the Catalan government’s legal department, told the court that he was not aware of any irregular payments made by the Catalan government for the referendum.

– Mercè Corretja, head of the Catalan government’s public procurement, said that she searched the public contracts registry several times and she hadn’t found anything related to the referendum. She also said that the Catalan government accounts had been blocked by Spain 15 days prior to the vote.

– Nuria Cuenca, the head of the education department in the Catalan government, told the court that the Spanish police caused damage at schools of €268,000 the day of the referendum.

May 14, Day 44 of Trial

The day was marked by a clash between Judge Marchena and Jordi Cuixart‘s defense counsel, Benet Salellas.

Judge Marchena repeatedly interrupted the witness Marina Garcés whenever she expressed her feelings over the referendum day. “We can’t waste time,” he said.

Judge Marchena: “Your personal opinions are of no interest, even though you would love to keep talking about them.”

Lawyer Benet Salellas protested Marchena’s assessment, noting that the court had been receptive to “the perceptions of witnesses of the referendum when they were police officers.” However,  Marchena suggested he would be glad if Salellas remained quiet during the cross-examination of academic Marina Garcés. Salellas then protested and denounced a “continued violation of fundamental rights” and said he would not be asking further questions as a result of the decision. “Much better,” Marchena responded.

– Ramon Font, the head of an education trade union, spoke about the initiative to keep schools open with activities during the independence referendum weekend.

Font said that many organizations joined the initiative: “We couldn’t conceive that schools, for us temples of culture and democracy, would remain closed for any state decision.”

– Jordi Pesarrodona, a voter of the referendum, said that the Spanish police hit his testicles with batons several times the day of the referendum.

– Maria Lluisa Carrillo, a voter of the referendum, said she was thrown to the ground by the Spanish police, who then, broke her pelvis.

– Mercé Arderiu, a lawyer at the Catalan parliament, said the order of the day was changed on a 6 and 7 September 2017 plenary session at the request of MPs. She explained speaker Forcadell had no power to prevent this from happening.

– Lluis Corominas, a former member of the Catalan Parliament’s Bureau, on the former speaker Forcadell: “All formal necessities were always examined. The president cannot do anything alone.”

– Anna Simó, a former member of the Catalan Parliament’s Bureau, said that Forcadell never once used her tie-breaking vote in any parliament decision. “The president of the chamber could not stop the alteration of the agenda. It was up to the parliament,” she said.

Additional Information 

On May 14, the electoral authority stopped jailed leader Junqueras from joining a televised EU election debate, arguing that it was incompatible with the timetable of the prison where the former vice president is being held.

Also on May 14, Catalan speaker Roger Torrent met with the Council of Europe  commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, to talk about Spain’s “violation of rights and democratic regression.”

Catalan Independence Trial: Summary Most Important Testimonies May 6, 7, 8 and 9

May 6, Day 39 of Trial

Catalan police officers, the leaders of Catalan police and trade unions, politicians, and voters of the 2017 independence referendum testified on Monday.

– Guillot, leader of a Catalan police union, said that as legal police, they have always “obeyed the judges and prosecution.”

– Sergi Pla said it was “an enormous task for the Catalan police covering all polling stations.”

– Xavier Trias, former Mayor of Barcelona, told the court that he “didn’t see anyone” displaying violent behavior among the protestors in autumn 2017. “The people were peaceful.”

– Ireneu Alvarado, a voter of the 2017 referendum in Dosrius, explained how she was injured after Spanish police entered the polling station that he was in. “Many people had their shirts bloodied,” he said.

– General secretary of the Catalonia branch of Spain’s largest trade union (CCOO), Javier Pacheco, said that union members protested during the police raids in Catalan government buildings on September 20, 2017, because “they [the Spanish government and police] were undermining Catalonia’s self-government.”

 

May 7, Day 40 of Trial 

Voters of the 2017 independence referendum gave their testimonies and told the court their experiences of Spanish police aggression on the day of the vote.

– Pere Font, an elderly man from Barcelona, told the court that Spanish police officers grabbed him by the testicles and threw him to the ground. 

After protesting, a police officer told him, “We were sent here to do this.” Then the police officers punched him in the face.

– Joan Porras, an activist known as Joan Bona Nit for having visited the Catalan political prisoners every night to wish them goodnight while they were imprisoned in Lledoners prison: “The Catalan police seized the ballot boxes and suspended the referendum at my polling station the day of the referendum.” He also explained that there weren’t any incidents.

– Several voters of the 2017 referendum in the town of Dosrius explained that the police arrived at their polling station and then began throwing women to the floor while insulting the people who were gathered there.

– Numerous voters explained that although they knew that the referendum had been suspended [by Spanish courts], they still went to vote because they believe that “voting is the essence of democracy.”

 

May8, Day 41 of Trial

Several voters of the 2017 referendum gave their testimony about what they witnessed at their polling stations during the referendum as well as an official at the Barcelona port. 

– Marga Borràs, who voted in Tarragona, told the court that the Catalan police tried to close down her polling station, but they couldn’t do it as there were hundreds of people blocking the entrance.

– Josep Lluís Torres, who voted in Barcelona, affirmed that the voters were “happy” until they found out that the “Spanish police were attacking people less than a kilometer away from us.”

– Isabell Castell said there weren’t any violent incidents at her polling station apart from some “far-right” people throwing stones at one point.

– Montse Higueras, who voted in Barcelona, explained that the Catalan police told them the referendum couldn’t go ahead, but that the voters “peacefully” resisted and went ahead with the vote anyway.

– José Alberto Carbonell, an official at the Barcelona port, said the requests for two ships that accommodated Spanish police officers ahead of the vote was rejected as the port wasn’t designed to hold “hotel ships.” However, he eventually authorized their docking after he was informed they were state ships.

 

May 9, Day 42 of Trial

Voters of the 2017 referendum testified that the vote took place with normalcy and without any incident in those places where the Spanish police didn’t show up. They said that the Catalan police appeared in all polling stations, informing about the court orders they had, but in no case, they used force against the voters.

– Emesis Fuentes, a former Spanish police officer, explained how was the entrance of the Civil Guard [Spanish police] to the polling station where he was without any previous warning and destroying the main door.  

“If they had asked, we would have explained that the door was closed out and not inside, and that was not locked,” Fuentes explained, which caused laughter between the public and the first warning of the President of the Chamber Judge Marchena claiming silence.

Fuentes affirmed that there was no violence by the voters. He said that people ran and that the Civil Guard began to hit them to reach the door, while he contemplated it through the glass inside the school. His three sons were outside and two of them were injured. His wife was there too.

Independence Trial: Most Important Testimonies April 29 and 30

April 29, Day 37 of Trial

Ivo Vajgl, MEP for Slovenia, told the court that he considers jailed Catalan leader Romeva a “defender of human rights” and that his relationship with him involved conflict resolution.

“I’ve always said that Romeva has always acted peacefully and has defended dialogue. We collaborated on issues related to peace and war in Syria and the Middle East,” said Vajgl.

“The Catalan question was always present in the European Parliament. Everyone has their own opinion, mine would be to face the issue with dialogue,” explained Vajgl.

Portuguese MEP Ana Gomes said that she and Romeva were both members of a subcommittee of defense in the European Parliament.

“I am absolutely convinced that Romeva is a true democrat who is pro-human rights. Regarding Catalonia, we spoke in private; he was in favor of dialogue and an agreement,” Gomes told the Court.

The Portuguese politician explained that she attended a conference on the Catalan conflict and possible solutions.

“I went to it because the ideas on how to solve it seemed interesting to me. They were pushing for an agreed referendum solution, like what we saw in Scotland,”  explained Gomes.

German MP Andrej Hunko said that he was invited to Catalonia by Diplocat, the diplomacy council of Catalonia, but affirmed that his visit was not official as an international observer.

“We wrote a report [on the referendum], making particular mention of the violence from the Spanish police,” said Hunko

“I didn’t see any act of violence by protesters against police cars,” said Lluís Llach, singer and former Catalan MP, in reference to the protests on September 20, 2017, against Spanish police raids of Catalan government buildings.

“We take to the streets because we know that the protests are peaceful, and should anyone engage in violent acts, we would leave them alone,” Llach told the court.

April 30, Day 38 of Trial 

A witness said that the Spanish police officers were very violent during the referendum. He saw police officers “beating people and pulling them by the hair.” Another witness said he was forcefully removed by officers, who then kicked him “twice in the back.”

Joan Pau Salvadó, who participated in the 2017 independence referendum, said that the police beat voters despite being peaceful. “The voters were raising their hands and chanting: we only want to vote.” “It was the most important day of my life,” added Salvadó. 

Albert Salvadó, another voter, told the court: 

“The first officers brought people out without violence, but they were forceful. After that, more police arrived, and they exercised explicit violence. I saw several friends with T-shirts with blood.” 

Salvadò also said that there was neither violence nor threats against the Spanish security forces by voters. 

David Elvira, former head of the Catalan health department, CatSalut, said that some 1,066 people received medical assistance for injuries provoked by the Spanish police violence during the referendum.