Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Political arrests of Spanish communists

Sare Antifaxista reports[es] of the arrest orders against three high profile leaders of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE) a small but active Marxist-Leninist political organization. The arrested are Vanesa García Rodríguez (23), José Iván Fernández (27, member of the Central Commitee of the party) and Sergio Navas (20, Secretary General of the youth organization). 

The arrests have been ordered by the Judge of the National Court (political tribunal, secular Inquisition) Ismael Moreno, who accuses them of attacking a cash machine in Langreo (Asturias) with petrol bombs on January 15th. Vanesa García rejected to declare to police but José Iván and Sergio Navas flatly rejected any participation in the attack. 

The attorney of the three communists pointed out that the judicial case is dated to early 2010 when the episode for which they are being accused happened a year later. This and the high profile of the arrested clearly suggests that it is a political persecution and not any genuine criminal procedure. 

Both Navas and García are politically active at the University of Asturias, where the former exerts as student representative.

The PCPE in a communication[es] rejects the accusation as a set up of political nature, demands the liberation of its militants and the purge of those in the administration responsible of this maneuver. 

The PCPE was formed in the 1980s from the union of several small breakaway factions exited from the mainstream Communist Party of Spain (PCE), which had initiated a drift towards socialdemocracy (the so-called Eurocommunism).


Update (Jun 17th): All the arrested have been left free without charges, not without having been arrested under the harsh conditions of anti-terrorist laws for several days. Neither judge nor state attorney found any indication of crime, what makes me wonder why they were arrested to begin with (as the arrest could only happen under a judge's orders). 

Solidarity demo in Bilbao
Source: Sare Antifaxista[es].

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