Support imprisoned Catalan communists

Solidarity with the imprisoned Catalan Students arrested during the General Strike

On Thursday 29th March, during the activities organized by the pickets of the general strike in the University area of Barcelona, the Catalan police arrested two students, Isma and Dani,members of our member organisation CJC-Joventut Comunista de Catalunya and the AEPAssociaciód’Estudiants Progressistes respectively.

In total, that morning were arrested and taken to the police station in Les Corts, over thirty people.A large group of family and friends moved to the City of Justice and waited for their departure,to welcome them and show their support, because everything pointed that after testifying, allthe detainees would be released.

Unfortunately, at 10pm, the lawyers reported that the Ministerio Fiscal in Madrid askedpreventive imprisonment for all detainees, and at 22pm they finally confirmed that Isma, andDani would be transferred to different prisons under provisional imprisonment and withoutbail.

They are accused of public disorder, damage to public property and injury to law enforcement,among others, and the reasons given to justify their provisional imprisonment are theensurance of their availability to the court and the alleged danger of recidivism.

The World Federation of Democratic Youth states:

That Isma and Dani are young people organized in legitimate and necessary associationsand involved in their respective communities where they struggle for the common good.

That in a democratic system, the presumption of innocence must be respected.

That the decision to imprison them is misplaced and exaggerated as there is no risk of escapeand they have no criminal records.

For these reasons, we support the petition of review of the case that was presented in their Defense on Monday 2nd April, we demand the immediate release of the detainees and we askthe youth of the world to express their solidarity with the Catalan Students.

Budapest April 4, 2012
The CC/HQ of WFDY.