"Anna Gabriel has not fled, she has sought refuge." Gabriel’s party, Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) said on Thursday about her decision to go to Geneva.
Gabriel, one of the visible faces of the independence movement, was meant to testify this Wednesday facing possible charges of sedition and rebellion. The party, Popular Unity Candidacy, seeks to open by this saying, "a new political and judicial front against Spain... Anna Gabriel has no guarantees for a fair trial... In this general case against Catalonia, there are no minimum guarantees of justice".
They added, "the aim is not justice but the humiliation of all the people of Catalonia."
They also stated, "the facts are not judged here, political projects are". The party have emphasised this is a judicial procedure which they say is typical of an authoritarian and undemocratic regime. In this way, they assure that "Anna's decision, has been taken collectively and it is a step forward to internationalise the Catalan conflict".
Why Geneva?
The same day she was summoned to testify at the Supreme Court, Gabriel gave an interview to the Swiss Radio Television (RTS) in which she said, "Switzerland will decide what they want to do with me".
The member of the CUP explained that the decision to go into exile had been "hard" because she was going away from family and friends.
"With the lawyers, she has analysed that an extradition would be illegal" and she explained that "there is no basis to sustain that she has committed a crime, we have arguments to defend that this is a political persecution".
Censée passer devant la justice espagnole mercredi, l'indépendantiste catalane Anna Gabriel confirme à la RTS qu'elle a choisi de rester en Suisse. https://t.co/O2zz4XKecA pic.twitter.com/SSHxHJNToq
— RTSinfo (@RTSinfo) 20 de febrer de 2018
"Switzerland does not accept the extradition orders of people who are persecuted politically", she said.
"We have many arguments to say that it is not an impartial tribunal and that it is a political persecution", she stated.
At the present time, the Supreme Court has declared this Wednesday, Anna Gabriel's detention order to a national level.
The two strategies
Mireia Boya, another member of the CUP, was declared last week as an investigated person at the Supreme Court and was released without precautionary measures.
After an hour and ten minutes of the declaration, Boya did not leave happy: "I am not satisfied because there are still political prisoners. This is a political trial and we must act as such. I have come to explain that what happened in Catalonia was a democratic process". She added, "we made a referendum, we won it and we declared the Catalan Republic", she remarked.
From the Popular Unity Candidacy, it is noted that both Gabriel's exile and the declaration of Boya consist of a political strategy and that it responds to a common framework.
