Oct 16 2017—NEWS—Puigdemont calls decision “very bad news”; ANC releases pre-recorded video message from Jordi Sánchez.
National High Court judge Carmen Lamela jailed the chairmen of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Jordi Sánchez, and Omnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart, on remand on Monday night, several court reporters tweeted.
The men are being investigated on charge of sedition for the events of September 20 in Barcelona, when several Civil Guard officers acting as judicial police, as well as a court secretary, were prevented by a crowd of up to 40,000 people from leaving a building they had been searching.
The ANC and Omnium are the two most powerful non-institutional Catalan separatist organisations, responsible for organising the annual marches in which several hundred thousand people are estimated to take part.
Europa Press said both men again refused to answer the investigating judge’s questions.
Organisers of the crime of sedition in Spain can be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail if convicted at trial. Their imprisonment—on remand—comes at the pre-trial stage of proceedings in the Spanish legal system, and has been ordered by the investigating judge.
Monday was the second time the two had appeared in court, along with Catalan Police (Mossos) chief and a female officer.
The two police officers were not jailed on remand but ordered by the court to hand over their passports and appear before a judge every 15 days.
Catalan First Minister Carles Puigdemont tweeted the judge’s decision was “very bad news”.
“Imprisoning Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sánchez is very bad news. They mean to imprison ideas but they make the need for freedom stronger in us.”
Deputy First Minister Oriol Junqueras responded on Twitter within minutes, in English: “We ask to sit and talk and the PP, through the Public Prosecutor, responds with unconditional imprisonment for @jordisanchezp and @jcuixart”.
Òmnium Cultural tweeted: “The loss of liberty for the chairmen of Omnium and the ANC is unacceptable in a democratic society. The mobilisation continues, they cannot imprison a whole people!”.
The ANC released a pre-recorded message from Mr. Sánchez, in which he said his imprisonment did not respond “to any principle of justice”, and that the court sought to “frighten us, punish us for having defended liberty”.
The Catalan government’s Director of Foreign Communications, Joan María Piqué, tweeted: “Shame. Spain, the Turkey of the west”.
Spain Record