Catch-22 for the Prisoners

The Catalan political prisoners in Spain are trapped in a mixture of Groundhog Day and Catch-22.

They are held in prisons 400 miles from their homes in Barcelona. Each visit means an 800-mile round trip for spouses, children or grandchildren, for 40 minutes of visit separated by armour plated glass.

Yesterday,  three of the prisoners, Carme Forcadell, Oriol Junqueras and Raül Romeva, asked again (for the nth time) to be moved to a prison nearer their families. The Supreme Court judge, Pablo Llarena, again (for the nth time) refused their request. 

In the judgement handed down yesterday, Llarena said that he does not have the power to decide on where the prisoners should be held. It is, he claims, the responsibility of the Prison Department.


The Prison Department is part of the Ministry of the Interior (the Spanish 'Home Office'). But the newly-appointed Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, told Onda Cero radio yesterday that it was up to the judge to decide whether the prisoners could be moved.

The judge says it's up to the Ministry, and the Ministry says it's up to the judge.

Who's right?

They are both wrong, because the political prisoners should be at home with their families and free of all charges. But while we wait for the European courts to arrive at that conclusion, the families of Spain's political prisoners, many with young children, are forced to spend hours on the road, for a snatched visit with their loved ones. It's a cruel Catch-22.

What can you do?

Write to the prisoners, and write to the Spanish Embassy to protest. Here's how.

Secret video released

In a controversial move, leading Catalan newspaper Ara has published a secretly-filmed video showing Oriol Junqueras, Joaquim Forn and Raül Romeva, in the Estremera Prison in Spain.

Oriol Junqueras

The film shows the political prisoners giving classes - Oriol Junqueras gives a class to fellow-prisoners on philosophy - taking exercise, cleaning the communal spaces in the prison and writing. Families of the prisoners, organised as the Catalan Association for Civil Rights have complained about the attack on the privacy of the prisoners. In a Tweet released this morning they say that "...the conditions in the prison and the visitors regime are tough, and we do not understand this illegal recording  [of their lives]"

Davant les imatges que circulen dels presos polítics catalans, denunciem la vulneració dels seus drets de manera reiterada, ara el dret a la intimitat. Les condicions a presó i el règim de visites són durs i no entenem aquesta gravació feta il·legalment. #LlibertatPresosPolítics

— Ass. Catalana pels Drets Civils (@ACDretsCivils) June 7, 2018

What can you do?

Donate to the prisoners’ families fund, The Catalan Association for Civil Rights, which is helping to cover the costs of visits. You'll find details on our What you can Do page.

Write to the new Spanish President to demand the release of the political prisoners. For his address, and more actions, see our page on what you can do. 





Photo: by Generalitat de Catalunya, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55876947

Catalan President visits Prisoners

The Catalan President, Quim Torra, has today visited Estremera Prison, where he visited Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull and Raül Romeva. He went on to visit Carme Forcadell and Dolors Bassa, in the Alcalá de Henares prison, near Madrid.

Two of the political prisoners, Josep Rull and Jordi Turull, have been selected as ministers ('Consellers') in the new Catalan government. Vilaweb reports that Jordi Turull said:

Honorats de rebre la visita del MHP @QuimTorraiPla. Ho hem fet amb la màxima dignitat, amb vestit formal i la insígnia de consellers. Tenim els nostres drets polítics intactes i demanem la nostra llibertat per exercir la responsabilitat que ens ha encomanat i que acceptem pic.twitter.com/rrffTaiFaS

— Jordi Turull i Negre (@jorditurull) May 21, 2018

The tweet says: "Honoured to receive the visit from President @QuimTorraiPla. The visit was made with dignity, in formal attire and the insignia of ministers. Our political rights are intact, and we demand the freedom to exercise the responsibility that has been given to us, and which we accept."

Spanish President M. Rajoy has delayed the official publication of the names of ministers in the new government. This means that the Generalitat remains under the control of Madrid, under section 155 of the Spanish Constitution.


You can help! Find out how, here.