Hundreds of independentistas have protested this Monday in front of the headquarters of the Bar Association of Barcelona (Icab) due to the presence of Supreme Court judge Manuel Marchena, who presided over the court that sentenced nine procés leaders to long prison terms for sedition , on the occasion of a conference on artificial intelligence and criminal proceedings. The protest has triggered some moments of tension between the demonstrators and the Mossos d’Esquadra guarding the building.
The protest was called by pro-independence entities such as the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural and has been supported by hundreds of independentists who have been wearing banners against the magistrate since 4:00 p.m. and chanted slogans such as “Marchena a la trena”.
The conference, scheduled for 5:00 p.m., has not been allowed access to the press and is reserved for collegiate lawyers who have previously signed up for the talk, which last Friday had already sold out all available places.
The protest has been reproduced inside the room, where twenty people accredited to the act have risen in protest and have left the place to the boos of some present. One of them, Pep Cruanyes, from the ANC, has addressed Marchena to tell him that he has turned the Supreme Court into an exceptional court.
Meanwhile, outside, around 4:00 p.m., three people held a Spanish flag at the entrance to Icab, located on Calle Mallorca in front of the headquarters of the Government delegation in Catalonia, and the protesters booed them. The three have entered the building protected by a cordon of the Mossos d’Esquadra, who have also placed four riot vans in the vicinity of the building.
The president of the ANC, Dolors Feliu, has called Marchena’s conference in Barcelona on artificial intelligence a “provocation” when precisely the Pegasus case is on the table and has recalled that, despite the pardons, the convictions of that “trial farce” still stand.
For his part, the president of Òmnium, Xavier Antich, has indicated that today’s protest is a response to that trial and has recalled the words of his predecessor in office, Jordi Cuixart: “Ho tornarem a fer”.
