The Catalan independence supporters arrested earlier this week on charges including terrorism and possession of explosives have been victims of "violations" and "irregularities" from the start, said lawyer Eva Pous this Friday. Pous is part of Alerta Solidària, an organisation helping five of the seven who are being held without bail. Before visiting the five in Soto del Real prison, she said they don't even know what evidence is behind the charges of terrorism as the case is being kept under seal.
"In the end, there's been a violation of rights during the whole process," Pous said. She described it as a "very strange" situation, especially when it comes to the two who reportedly confessed to some of the charges and were attended to by public defenders. "From the first moment there's been a series of irregularities which make us suspect that perhaps there's been some kind of pressure to not go with a lawyer not provided by the court," she said..
The lawyer also said that the seal on the case "is only for the defence", whilst the public prosecution service, Civil Guard and the judge do have access to everything and are making "deliberate leaks" they have no way of confirming. In this vein, she notes that yesterday the court only wanted to provide them with the resolution section of the order sending them into custody without bail. "We still don't know the factors to attribute these crimes," she said.
This Friday was the first time they could speak with the five. They had asked to do so yesterday whilst they were waiting in the National Audience before being taken to prison, but the court denied them permission.