The Supreme Court once again refuses to release Sànchez, Rull and Turull

BarcelonaSpain’s Supreme Court has once again refused to release the former president of the ANC Jordi Sànchez and the former ministers Jordi Turull and Josep Rull. According to the judges, there has been no change in the circumstances for which they were detained without bail. The three defendants filed a fresh appeal for their release a few days before the hunger strike began in Lledoners prison (Bages, north of Barcelona), alleging that the circumstances had changed as a result of the Prosecutor's Office and the Advocacy of the State having formally presented their charges.

Specifically, they point to the "significant differences with respect to the facts and their legal definition" which exist between the two accusations regarding the crimes of rebellion and sedition. They pointed out that the Advocacy is calling for much shorter prison terms than the Prosecutor’s Office, and in addition, the terms are not much longer than those it is aiming for in the case of the other defendants who have been released on bail and who have not fled the country.

The defendants also appealed for "consistency in the administration of justice" citing those who were convicted in cases such as Gürtel, Bankia, Lezo and La Manada who have not been sent to jail. Today, however, the court responsible for the trial has issued an interlocutory order in which it dismisses the new appeal for the defendants’ release, declaring that, "the circumstances that existed in previous resolutions remain unchanged".

The judges consider that the risk the defendants will abscond or reoffend justifies their continued detention and insist, as in previous resolutions, that the procedural circumstances do not imply a violation of their right to a fair trial. In this regard, they wish to make it clear that "all the defendants, regardless of their personal circumstances, will have the same opportunities to defend themselves during the trial".