This is how Santos Cerdán entrusted the defense to Benet Salellas

Madrid / BarcelonaIf one piece of news raised eyebrows in the midst of the Santos Cerdán case, just after the UCO report was released, it was the decision of the former PSOE number three to choose lawyer Benet Salellas to defend him in the court case. Until that day, Cerdán's lawyer was Gonzalo Martínez-Fresneda, who works for the PSOE, but with the dismissal of all his positions, he had to opt for his own strategy. Few expected him to hire a former CUP deputy in the Catalan Parliament, key to the 2017 laws disengaging from the Proceso and also the lawyer for the leader of Òmnium, Jordi Cuixart, during the Proceso trial. What was the connection between the two? How did Cerdán get to Salellas? Why did the lawyer, known for his human rights cases, agree to defend the former PSOE number three?

The former CUP leader is a respected lawyer in Catalonia and is not part of what sources consulted by ARA call a "toxic" circle of Madrid lawyers, that is, a "very commercial" legal profession that ultimately involves establishing relationships with judges and prosecutors. Many lawyers offered to represent Cerdán, but the former PSOE organization secretary was clear from the outset that a political defense like the one he has proposed could not be carried out with law firms within the Madrid sphere. "I am here to be the architect of progressive governments," he said in the statement that led to his imprisonment.

In recent days, there has been speculation that Cerdán had contacted Salellas through EH Bildu (a claim that several sources still maintain). There has also been talk of Junts as an intermediary (a claim denied by its general secretary). There has even been talk of a link between the former Evole and the former Evole, a claim also denied by the journalist. Last week, however, visits to the prison by another lawyer, Jacobo Teijelo, revealed another avenue, which has gained strength since this lawyer joined the defense team led by Salellas.

Sources consulted by ARA confirm that Teijelo is at the root of everything. On June 12, when the UCO report and Cerdán's indictment were published, the Socialist Party member contacted this lawyer, who recommended that he hire Salellas. They have been working together ever since, although it has not been officially communicated until now. "He really knows what this political process is all about, lawfare", says Teijelo about the Girona native. They met when the former CUP member finished his studies, and Teijelo was friends with his father, Sebastià Salellas, also a renowned lawyer with whom he had worked on cases involving Islamic terrorism.

The Teijelo-Cerdán connection

Jacobo Teijelo came into the media spotlight a few weeks ago when he appeared on The Confidential In an audio with businessman Javier Pérez Dolset and Leire Díez, the plumber of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), who claims he was working within the framework of a journalistic investigation to find information about the state's sewers. Cerdán to try to defuse the state security forces investigating the open legal cases against Sánchez's entourage and himself. "Santos is the first to know they've been after him from the beginning. This is Operation Catalunya II," Cerdán's defense team asserts, despite the fact that neither the Spanish Prime Minister nor the PSOE endorses it.