News
Catalan clashes after
sentencing
Violent clashes broke out in Cataluña
last month after Spain’s Supreme
Court sentenced nine people to jail
sentences for their involvement in the
illegal independence referendum held
in the region in 2017. The longest
period behind bars was handed to the
former Catalan vice-president, Oriol
Junqueras, who was imprisoned for 13
years.
Hundreds of protestors gathered in the
streets of Barcelona with whistles and
megaphones as news of the sentencing
spread, shouting, “This is not justice –
this is revenge.” One protestor lost an
eye after apparently being hit by a
rubber bullet fired by National Police
as large crowds clashed with officers at
Barcelona’s international airport.
Dozens of flights were cancelled as a
result of the conflict, while sabotage
later in the week disrupted AVE high-
speed rail services and a number of
motorways were forced to be closed.
A general strike in Cataluña was called
for October 18, resulting in further cuts
to road and rail service, and the
cancellation of around 60 flights at El
Prat airport. After almost a week of
disruption, the Catalan leader, Quim
Torra, demanded a meeting with PM
Pedro Sánchez, to which the
government responded by asking him
first to “condemn” the violence.
The Catalan National Assembly called
for “mobilisations around the globe,”
including in the UK, France and
Germany, while FC Barcelona and the
Catalan football federation both
condemned the prison sentences and
called for “dialogue and negotiation.”
All football matches were suspended in
the region to show solidarity with those
imprisoned and their families.
Absent from the proceedings, of
course, was the former Catalan
president, Carles Puigdemont, who fled
from Spain to avoid prosecution
shortly after the referendum was held
and has lived abroad ever since. He
described the sentences as an “atrocity”
and claimed that the Catalan people
are victims of a “strategy of repression
and revenge.” The Supreme Court
wants him returned to Spain to stand
trial, while Prime Minister Pedro
Exports suspended
Spain last month suspended military
exports to Turkey following its
incursion into Syria. Madrid joined
other major powers, including the UK,
in asking Ankara to put an end to the
military operation. The ban imposed by
Spain, which was Turkey’s fifth biggest
arms supplier between 2008 and 2018,
denied export licences for any
equipment which could be used against
Syria.
Briton dies
Sánchez commented, “No-one is above
the law.”
The 2017 referendum in Cataluña went
ahead despite warnings from Spain’s
Constitutional Court that it would be
illegal. Next day, regional leaders
declared the region to be independent
of Spain, leading to arrests and the
suspension of Cataluña’s autonomy by
Madrid.
The nine former regional leaders who
were sentenced on October 14 had
already spent months in detention
awaiting trial. They were acquitted of
rebellion, which requires proof of an
element of violence, but found guilty
of sedition. The custodial sentences
handed to them totalled 100 years.
Lamppost encounter
Luis Fernando Pozo of the
Paratroopers Brigade, BRIPAC, crashed
into the headlines, literally, during the
October 12 military parade. Watched
by a crowd including King Felipe, he
parachuted from 1,500 metres into the
centre of Madrid carrying a huge
Spanish flag, only to collide with a
lamppost and become entangled in its
ropes, leaving him hanging several
metres off the ground. He was
uninjured and after being rescued by a
cherry-picker, was introduced to the
Royal Family. A petition has been
launched on social media for him to
parachute in with the national flag
during the same event next year.
9
A 45-year-old British man died during
triathlon on Mallorca last month as his
family looked on. He was taking part in
a 1.9 kilometre swim off the coast of
Peguera when he appeared to have
suffered a cardiac arrest. The victim,
understood to be a fire-fighter, was
brought to shore by lifeguards and
given CPR, but was finally declared to
have died.
Dark island
A fault at a substation left the island of
Tenerife without power for ten hours at
the end of September. The black-out
stranded 60 people in elevators and
caused traffic chaos, but no injuries
were reported. Hospitals and the
airports operated normally thanks to
the provision of back-up generators.
Security investigation
A private security firm based in Spain is
reportedly under investigation for
allegedly spying on the Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange during the
seven years he spent living in the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London. El Pais
claimed last month that Undercover
Global used hidden surveillance to send
US intelligence chiefs recordings of
meetings between Mr Assange and his
lawyers. The paper said that the
company’s owner, David Morales, is
under a secret investigation by Spain’s
National Court.
Low risk
The risk of dying in a road accident in
the province of Málaga is the second-
lowest in Spain. Last year, 24 deaths per
thousand of population were recorded,
with only the Community of Madrid
recording a lower figure of 17 deaths.
Figures from Tráfico last month rate
Soria, north of Madrid, as the worst
black spot with 169 deaths per
thousand, followed by Huesca, Zamora,
Avila and Cuenca, all of which are
provinces with fewer than 300,000
residents.