11.01.2021 - 13:32
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Actualització: 11.01.2021 - 14:32
Two and a half years after leaving Catalonia for Belgium following terrorism accusations, the activist Adrià Carrasco has returned after being cleared of all charges for taking part in pro-independence protest actions. As a member of the Committees in Defense of the Republic (CDR), a decentralized network of pro-independence protest groups, Carrasco was prosecuted for blocking highways and sabotaging toll booths in the spring of 2018.
He was accused of terrorism, rebellion, and sedition; some of the most serious offenses in Spain’s criminal code, carrying decades-long prison sentences. Carrasco’s house was raided by Spain’s Guardia Civil police on 10 April 2018 but he managed to escape through the window and fled to Brussels, where several pro-independence leaders had previously exiled alleging political persecution in Spain.
Originally prosecuted by Spain’s National Court in Madrid, Carrasco saw his case subsequently transferred to lower courts as the terrorism charges and the most serious accusations were dropped. Still, he had been wary of returning before all criminal charges were fully dismissed.
The case of Tamara Carrasco
Carrasco announced his return in a surprise appearance during a press conference held on Monday in front of the Catalan High Court in Barcelona. Adrià Carrasco was joined by Tamara Carrasco, another pro-independence activist as well as a CDR member.
Tamara Carrasco was arrested in the same police operation that Adrià Carrasco managed to escape. She was confined for over a year to her hometown of Viladecans, in the outskirts of Barcelona, even after the original charges of terrorism were dropped. Tamara Carrasco was cleared of all charges on 6 October 2020, after facing trial in a local Barcelona court.
More info
Interview 11.04.20 –> Adrià Carrasco: “Repression is intrinsic to the state and it affects the whole of society”
