The coincidence of two news events that occurred just hours apart - firstly, the Spanish Supreme Court's decision to confirm the rebellion charges against Carles Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras and 11 other Catalan independence leaders, and secondly, the presentation of a new Mediapro-produced documentary on the Barcelona protests of 20th September last year which form part of the evidence in these rebellion allegations - demonstrates the need to be very wary about crimes of enormous gravity which at present are a long way from being proven. It is all so tentative, indeed, that the Supreme Court's resolution takes great care to argue that, in the end, the accused may either be linked to acts of actual violence or they may be shown to have incited people to commit such acts aimed at the final goal of declaring independence, and that this "is a question which at present can be accepted on an indicative basis and the final resolution of the matter will depend on the production of actual proof, which can only take place, if such proof exists, at the trial."
It does not cease to be a cause for concern that upon this legal foundation and on others that are equally questionable in terms of the rigor in their approach to the events of September and October last year, a case which contains too much politics, much too much politics, has been put together. And that beyond the matter of sentences that the court may eventually impose, it is holding all those accused of rebellion on remand in three Madrid prisons, except for those who opted to go abroad in the hope of a fairer trial. Of the nine pro-independence leaders, the one who has spent least time imprisoned is Carme Forcadell, and yet even for her, the time in Alcalá Meco prison adds up to the scandalous figure of 97 nights; while Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, who have been jailed the longest, have spent 254 nights in Soto del Real jail. That now, with the initial phase of the case closed, and the defendants awaiting trial, there is no judicial decision to release them on bail can only be read as the imposition of exemplary punishments.
I have observed that the Supreme Court resolution coincided with the presentation of a relevant documentary - which is also to be shown on Catalonia's TV3 on Thursday. The journalistic investigation directed by Jaume Roures in this film leaves question marks hanging over the instruction phase of the case led by judge Llarena, and it fundamentally affects the two Jordis. The official narrative of the judge is completely destroyed in the documentary by numerous witnesses. Roures has clearly shown up the Civil Guard reports as lies, and it has to be asked how continued preventive prison can be justified, in this specific case, for Sànchez and Cuixart. What additional proof is needed to reject allegations which, apart from the 13 charges of disobedience, are hardly punishable no matter how many times the court tries? But the rolling snowball has now become so huge for the Spanish state that making it smaller again is not at all easy.