The last two of seven Catalan pro-independence activists who had been jailed provisionally since last September after being accused of terrorism offences were released on bail on Friday night, as confirmed by defence lawyers. The two men, members of CDR groups (Committees for the Defence of the Republic) had been arrested 110 days previously, on 23rd September 2019 as part of a 500-officer Civil Guard raid known as Operation Judas and had been imprisoned in Madrid's Soto del Real jail by order of the National Audience court.
On Friday morning, the investigating judge ordered bail of 15,000 euros for Germinal Tomàs and 30,000 euros for Jordi Ros, and justified the change from a custody to a bail regime due to the two prisoners' "well-settled personal situations". In December, the other five CDRs jailed were released for the same reasons.
El Jordi i el Germinal cantant Els Segadors a la porta de Soto del Real.
— Cesc🎗 (@cesc239) January 10, 2020
Després de més de 100 dies segrestats segueixen forts✊
VISCA LA TERRA! pic.twitter.com/L9siRJFGlZ
Translation:
"Jordi and Germinal singing [Catalan national anthem] 'Els Segadors' at the gates of Soto del Real prison.
After more than 100 days abducted, they remain strong. LONG LIVE THE LAND!"— Cesc
Judge Manuel García Castellón affirmed in his two rulings that "the personal situation of the two persons under investigation had to be modified", in view of their personal circumstances, which their defence lawyers had demonstrated. Apart from the bail quantities demanded, the judge ordered the obligation to present themselves to a judge once a week, made them surrender their passports, and prohibited them from leaving Spanish territory.
García Castellón maintained that both were part of the "production nucleus" of the Tactical Response Team (TRT), a specialised CDR unit. In the ruling on Tomàs, the judge said that the investigation "made it possible to confirm" his "participation" in the "handling, preparation and readying of substances with the goal of converting them into explosive and incendiary compounds". And he added that "it would be a key piece in the success of the criminal plan."
As for Ros, the court ruling said he played a "significant role in making explosive devices and coordinating with other members of the so-called TRT," and he bought and took an interest in "chemicals considered to be precursors to explosives and material for it preparation."
During December, the National Audience court released the other five CDR members accused of terrorism offences and imprisoned in Soto del Real. The judge decreed bail for Ferran Jolis, Alexis Codina, Xavier Buigas, Guillem Xavier Duch and Eduardo Garzón, demanding deposits of 5,000 to 10,000 euros.
The CDR case made a major impact in Spanish media in the lead-up to the Supreme Court sentencing of the pro-independence leaders on October 14th, particularly due to the alleged connection between the independence movement, well-known for its peaceful demonstrations, and a supposed violent action.