Madrid protester in solidarity with Catalonia sentenced to 4.5 years in prison

A Spanish court has sentenced 23-year-old Dani Gallardo to 4.5 years in jail for allegedly attacking a police officer during a protest against the imprisonment of Catalan independence leaders in 2019.

Having spent a year and a month in pre-trial detention, Gallardo has been convicted for the crimes of public disorder and attacking authority, and will have to pay 2.100 euros to an officer who suffered mild injuries and 3,500 euros to the Madrid city council.

During the trial hearings, Gallardo denied taking part in the protests that erupted last year in Madrid in support of Catalonia’s pro-independence leaders. He also contested claims he had attacked a police officer, alleging that he acted as a human shield to protect his friend Elsa Vikki from the police.