A demonstrator throws wood to block the AVE tracks during the protest against the “Procés” ruling in Barcelona.Toni Ferragut
The Madrid court has agreed to search and arrest Dani Gallardo to serve a sentence for the riots during a protest against the verdict of the trial in Madrid in October 2019. On February 26, the court gave Gallardo three days to go to prison voluntarily. The young man, 26 years old, missed this deadline, which is why the court ordered the police to locate him so that he can be transferred to a correctional facility.
The Madrid Supreme Court (TSJM) said in a statement that the court's decision came after Gallardo was unsuccessfully asked up to three times to go to prison voluntarily. Gallardo “did not appear on any of the three occasions” and “he was not found at the registered address.” After his release after the trial, the activist moved to Montblanc (Tarragona), although his whereabouts are unknown. Those around him ensure that it “won’t be easy” to find him.
According to sources with knowledge of the status of the legal proceedings related to these riots, Gallardo is the first convict of the Procés protests to be sent to prison to serve his sentence. In October 2019, the Supreme Court condemned the political and social leaders of the 1-O referendum, which triggered a wave of sometimes violent protests. Most of them were based in Catalonia, but there were also other Spanish cities such as Madrid. Gallardo joined one of these mobilizations on October 16th.
The young man, who is close to anarchist and anti-fascist circles, was arrested for damage to property and attacks on riot police. After spending more than a year in makeshift prison, the Madrid court tried him and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison for public disorder and attacks on authority. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence slightly to four years. The judgment became final and the defense's attempts to suspend the execution of the judgment were in vain. In a last-ditch effort, lawyers argued that Gallardo would be one of the beneficiaries of the amnesty law prepared by the government.
You can follow EL PAÍS Catalunya on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter
What influences the most is what happens next. So you don't miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe to