Partner of Catalan political prisoner calls for broad mobilization in the event of a conviction

BarcelonaTxell Bonet, the partner of Jordi Cuixart, believes that if imprisoned political leaders and activists are convicted, there should be a "stoppage of the country such as that of the 3-Oct, demonstrations and, on the judicial front, appeals in the Constitutional Court and with the European Court of Human Rights. "The Catalan population, as it has demonstrated, can rally and can take to the streets to protest the sentence. There could be a new general stoppage such as on October 3 [last year] if a guilty verdict is handed down", notes the partner of Òmnium Cultural president Jordi Cuixart, who remarked that she was speaking in a personal capacity. "Rejecting the sentence means to not keep quiet, to do something, and in doing it in parallel, everything will come together", she added, also highlighting the need to appeal to the TC and to Strasbourg.

In an interview with the CNA (Catalan News Agency), Bonet admits that she is expecting the "worst" but trusts that the testimony of the defendants or the possible presence of "international observers" during the trial may serve to "accuse the State of all the violations of human and fundamental rights that have occurred". "Jordi always tells me: when you see that they add up all the sentences and a three-digit number appears in the newspapers, don't be scared," explained Bonet.

During the interview with the CNA, Bonet stated that her partner should not request a pardon in the event of a conviction because he is not "guilty." According to her, "it's someone else's job" to suggest a pardon, but would not rule out accepting it if it is offered. "If you are not guilty don't ask for it, but that does not mean you shouldn't accept it," she said.

The Jordis, "mediators" on 20-S

A year after the searches of public buildings in Barcelona and protests at the Ministry of Economy, Bonet said that the pre-trial imprisonment of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez for sedition on October 16, 2017 was the result of "an attempt by the highest levels of the Spanish justice system to criminalize citizen mobilization." According to her, Spain’s judicial authorities "believe that by locking away the leaders of civil society in prison the Catalan population will be afraid of taking to the streets."

About September 20 last year, Bonet also emphasized that Sánchez and Cuixart only participated in the "spontaneous" protest as "mediators" and not as "organizers." Bonet also claimed that "some biased media" used the photo of the two leaders on top of the police car as proof of "alleged violence", and at the same time called for someone to produce "evidence" of the alleged "injured" of 20-S.

Txell Bonet also denied any preferential treatment towards the politicians jailed in Catalan prisons, following recent accusations from Xavier García Albiol, leader of the PP in Catalonia. According to her, the rules for the jailed politicians are the same as for the other inmates; that is, "40 minutes behind a glass partition and the conjugal visits that apply in each situation," as well as institutional visits, which "were very difficult to sort out" in the Madrid prisons.