Sijena Case: Lluís Puig acquitted of disobedience

BarcelonaThe High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has acquitted former minister Lluís Puig of the crime of disobedience in the case of the Sijena artworks. The court ruled that insufficient evidence had been provided to conclude that the former Minister of Culture and member of the 1-O government, now in exile, repeatedly and persistently failed to comply with the requirements to transfer the 44 works stored in the Lleida Museum to the Sijena Monastery in Huesca.

The Prosecutor's Office requested a two-year disqualification from Puig and a €6,000 fine for serious disobedience, considering that he had no "will" to hand over the pieces and that they would "probably" still be in Lleida if Article 155 had not been applied. On the contrary, the lawyer clearly had a "will" to comply with the resolution but requested time to study a "complex" matter.

The court finally ruled that "it has not been able to reach a full conviction, with a degree of certainty that would require a guilty verdict, that the failure to comply with the requirements for action imposed on the accused Mr. Puig responded to a rebellious will and stubborn opposition to the court order." "The impossibility of confirming the presence in the accused's conduct of all the essential elements to declare the crime of disobedience, the subject of the accusation, will necessarily force us to issue an acquittal," the court concluded.

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