Josep Lluís Alay, head of Carles Puigdemont’s former president’s office, will be out for a season after suffering a brain hemorrhage last week as a result of an aneurysm. The historian underwent emergency surgery and is now convalescing, as explained by the former president himself in a message on the social network X, formerly Twitter. Puigdemont, likewise, thanks on his behalf for the expressions of affection that he has received these days.
“The timely reaction and the extraordinary work of health professionals make the recovery very good, but there are still weeks of uncertainty that will keep him out for a season,” adds Puigdemont. In any case, Alay will continue to lead the former president’s office, where they hope he recovers as soon as possible.
It so happens that Alay is one of those investigated in the National Court by Judge Manuel García Castellón in the cause of the Tsunami Democràtic protests and is also in the crosshairs of Judge Joaquín Aguirre, who is investigating the alleged Russian plot. of the process in court number 1 of Barcelona.
In addition, he is pending trial for embezzlement and prevarication for attending the 2018 New Caledonian independence referendum on behalf of the former Catalan president and paying for the trip with public funds, as well as for a visit to pro-independence prisoners at the Lledoners prison. for paying 15.20 euros of the toll to go and return to Sant Joan de Vilatorrada (Bages). For all this, the Prosecutor’s Office demands three years in prison and 17 years of disqualification. The trial was scheduled for last year and was postponed to February 20 of this year.
If the Amnesty law is approved in the Congress of Deputies within a few weeks, he should be one of the beneficiaries. In fact, yours is one of the cases that Junts per Catalunya clearly points out as lawfare, tortious use of justice and persecutory spirit for political purposes.
Alay is a historian, professor of Contemporary History of Tibet and Mongolia at the Faculty of Geography and History at the University of Barcelona. Beyond being an expert on Tibet, he has also translated some works from Russian and researched some aspects of Russian history.
Regarding the Russian plot of the process, in 2022, in a long interview on RAC1, Alay assured that “the whole story of the attempt to destabilize the European Union through Catalonia is a fantasy” and also asserted that “they had never” asked ” Russia’s support for the independence movement” and that “it is a falsehood that is part of the story of the State’s sewers.”
“We explain the Catalan political situation, and I always do it from my point of view. I have never asked to meet Putin either, I am being overrated,” concluded the historian, who reduced his contacts with the Russians to “courtesy.” Last week the judge investigating that case, Aguirre, extended the investigation for another six months.
