Court closes the case against Adrià Carrasco, who is already in Catalonia

The CDR member from Esplugues had been in exile in Belgium for over a thousand days

Xavi Tedó
3 min
Adrià Carrasco, en una imatge d'arxiu

BarcelonaAdrià Carrasco, a member of a Committee for the Defence of the Republic (CDR) exiled in Belgium for two years and eight months following the arrest of Tamara Carrasco, is already in Catalonia after the case against him was closed by the justice system. The young man from Esplugues de Llobregat was first charged with terrorism by the Audiencia Nacional, but then the court declined to hear the case and transferred it to the ordinary courts of Catalonia, which decided to close the investigation."The court in Granollers has ruled that there is no evidence to prove any crime," said a representative of the young man's support group at a press conference before the TSJC where Carrasco was also present.

"The accusation ended in nothing and shows that everything has been another set-up that only sought to demobilise the independence movement," said Carrasco, who criticised "the connivance of the media in reproducing the police story". "We will continue to fight, starting with the amnesty," added the young man, who made it clear that "the amnesty allows for the return of the exiles and the right to self-determination".

Carrasco was now only charged with public disorder for participating in the roadblocks and opening of tolls during Easter Week 2018 following the arrest of former President Carles Puigdemont in Germany. The support group has denounced Carrasco's "thousand days of injustice, suffering and exile", but has also thanked the "solidarity" that the young man has received during all this time. Today a gathering has been called at 7.30 pm in front of the Town Hall of Esplugues de Llobregat to celebrate his acquittal.

The filing of the case against the young man comes three months after Tamara Carrasco was also acquitted of the crimes of terrorism and public disorder she was accused of. The Viladecans activist was arrested on 10 April 2018, the day Adrià fled, in the first major case against CDRs, which has come to nothing

Carrasco was charged with terrorism for more than a year in the Audiencia Nacional, which confined her to her municipality. The judge finally dismissed the prosecution's arguments and transferred Tamara's case to a criminal court in Barcelona. The Public Prosecutor's Office accused her of incitement to commit a crime and sought for seven months in prison fror Carrasco, but the judge who examined the case considered that Carrasco was innocent.

This ruling was a major setback for what was the first major case against CDRs accused of terrorism. The judge criticised the Guardia Civil investigation and the position of the Prosecutor's Office. On the one hand, she denied that there was any evidence of "disturbances" during the protest actions against the arrest of former President Puigdemont in Germany in March 2018. On the other hand, she criticised the armed forces for basing their entire case for a crime as "serious" as terrorism on a WhatsApp message intercepted on social networks.

Support from parties and entities

Pro-Independence parties and entities have celebrated Carrasco's acquittal with different messages on their Twitter accounts. The Catalonia CDR has noted that "after so much suffering, Adri is coming home" and has called it a "popular victory". "Thanks to everyone who made it possible", added the CDR, which did not want to miss the opportunity to send its support to"all the victims of retaliation".

The Consell per la República has stressed that "the repressive process against Adri Carrasco is over: he has no arrest warrant and the young activist has returned to his village". "The struggle continues and we will continue until [we attain] full freedom [and] the Catalan Republic," warned the Brussels-based institution.

The CUP also celebrated Carrasco's return to Catalonia by welcoming him.

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