The Swiss Six are imprisoned despite opposition from the Spanish government.

BarcelonaThree and a half years in prison for six union members. They are known as the Swiss Six, who were sentenced for coercing the owner of a Gijón bakery. The six convicted men, five women and one man, were voluntarily imprisoned this Thursday after Gijón Court No. 1 rejected the request of the defense and the Prosecutor's Office to suspend the sentence and issued an arrest warrant and imprisonment order on Wednesday.

The CNT, the union to which the six convicted men are affiliated, confirmed to the Efe news agency that the union members showed up at the prison early this morning, accompanied by their legal representatives, to present their documentation and process their imprisonment, which took place shortly before noon. Just over a year ago, the Supreme Court upheld the individual sentences of two years in prison for obstruction of justice and another year and a half for coercion, in addition to the payment of €150,000 in compensation to the owner of the La Suiza bakery, who closed the premises.

The incident occurred in June 2016 when the partner of a La Suiza employee showed up at the bakery because the owner wouldn't let his pregnant wife leave because she wasn't feeling well. They argued, and the incident ended with the employer filing a complaint for threats and damage to his premises. The employee, who also reported workplace and sexual harassment, left her job and contacted the CNT union. The former employee and the six convicted union members gathered several times outside the bakery to report workplace and sexual harassment by the employer. These demonstrations, according to the judge, amounted to "boycott and pressure" on the owner, who ultimately closed the bakery.

The case has generated outright rejection from the left and also from the Spanish government. Second Vice President and Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz stated that she is working within the executive branch to obtain a pardon for the six union members, so that it "arrives as soon as possible." For its part, the ERC (Republican Left) registered a non-legislative motion urging the Spanish government to process the pardon "urgently" and also calling for measures to guarantee freedom of association and the right to protest. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), Izquierda Unida (United Left), Podemos (Western Left), EH (Bildu), and Compromís, in addition to the majority unions, have also supported the pardon.