García-Castellón asks Suiza to locate Marta Rovira for Democratic Tsunami

The judge of the National Court Manuel García-Castellón continues to carry out proceedings in the Democratic Tsunami case.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
21 November 2023 Tuesday 15:21
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García-Castellón asks Suiza to locate Marta Rovira for Democratic Tsunami

The judge of the National Court Manuel García-Castellón continues to carry out proceedings in the Democratic Tsunami case. The last has been to issue a rogatory commission to Switzerland to locate the general secretary of ERC, Marta Rovira, investigated in the case for being one of the organizers of the movement that led the altercations after the sentencing of the process in October 2019 and so on. be able to summon her to testify.

In a car to which La Vanguardia has had access, the instructor also requests data from a CIM Banque Privée account, so that the Swiss authorities can inform him about holders, financial products subscribed, authorized persons and links, as well as identity documents of the previous ones that by regulation have been contributed to the bank account.

It also claims account movements from its creation until June 2020 and transfers received and issued, as well as data related to financial movements "whatever their nature."

The judge asks Switzerland, based on the judicial cooperation agreement that exists between both countries, to provide data on recipients of checks issued and received in this account, as well as the counterparties associated with the clearing of possible checks in this account.

García-Castellón is on the trail of the financiers of the Democratic Tsunami, a movement that, according to the judge, led the riots following October 14, 2019 and could reach a terrorist nature. Yesterday, the magistrate presented a reasoned statement to the Supreme Court so that the case could continue to be investigated there once he believes he has sufficient evidence regarding the former president of the Generalitat and current MEP Carles Puigdemont, who has been brought before the high court.

While the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court, chaired by Manuel Marchena, makes a decision, the instructor can continue carrying out proceedings.

In the resolution, the magistrate explains to the Swiss authorities that the investigations carried out allow us to infer indirectly that TD was a "structured, hierarchical organization with a vocation for permanence, made up of several people with diverse roles that extended its scope of action in plots determined and with other people under their control, whose essential purpose was to subvert the constitutional order, economically and politically destabilize the State, and seriously alter public order through massive social mobilization.

For the judge, among the purposes of the TD organization, "as demonstrated by its actions, and specifically, the action committed on October 14, 2019 at the Barcelona-El Prat airport, or on the AP 7 Highway that connects Spain and France, was to seriously destabilize the fundamental economic structures of Spain.

Regarding Rovira, the judge explains in the order that she is being investigated for being part of the TD organization. She is being investigated for the commission of a crime of participation in the activity of a terrorist organization or group.

"Marta Rovira has been on the run from Spanish justice since March 2018, residing in Switzerland. With high probability she was the user of the Threema App with the pseudonym 'Matagalls'," explains the resolution.

Regarding the account of the questioner, García-Castellón explains to Switzerland that this number appears referenced in a telephone conversation between the head of Puigdemont's office, Josep Llùis Alay, with another person identified as Nicola Flavio Foglia, via instant messaging on own October 14, 2019.

In a previous message, Flogia introduces himself to Alay as a former president of the socialist youth.” Later, on the same day of the protest at the Barcelona airport, he told Alay that he had “enough money” in a Catalan bank and that he could finance the delivery of food and water to the protesters.

According to the order, Alay - investigated in several cases linked to the process - tells him that he is going to consult him, to answer two hours later that it is possible to offer money directly to the organization of the protest called Tsunami Democràtic through an account in Switzerland in the name of Jaume Cabani Massip, "providing him with the IBAN and SWIFT, as well as the bank's address." In that conversation, Flogia states that he will donate 6,000 Swiss francs, 5,000 from his side and 1,000 from his brother.

"Alay responds by thanking him and that he will inform Tsunami, adding that the protest of that day the 14th has ended, that the next day there will be another, but he does not know what it will be, that it is Tsunami who designs the strategy," the resolution states.

While the judge continues to carry out proceedings, there are two resolutions pending. On the one hand, the reasoned statement sent to the Supreme Court and on the other hand, the appeal filed by the Prosecutor's Office to the Criminal Chamber of the National Court against the investigation order against Puigdemont and Rovira as well as against the jurisdiction of the Court, understand that the matter should be in ordinary courts for alleged public disorder.

In addition, the Criminal Court will study the challenge raised by one of those investigated against the instructor and which he closed outright. The acting president, Alfonso Guevara, yesterday opened a government file to request García-Castellón's documentation.

The accusations made in the case have challenged the appeal of the public ministry, among other things I defend that the case should be directed by the alleged crime of terrorism. Thus, the Dignity and Justice association compiles a series of messages that appear in various police reports incorporated into the case, which began in 2019.

One of them would be a message from one of those investigated, the businessman Oriol Soler, on November 12, 2019 through a messaging application, and which says: "I believe that we have a structure and a dynamic capable of proposing a long-term resistance. I also think that it has to be reorganized a lot because now it is very inefficient. Three ideas: a) I think we only have to do one type of action: block areas of high economic interest anywhere in the state with cars, b ) I think we have to have 10 groups of 200 cars established to be able to play. For example, today if they had gone to cut off in the north once they evacuated, we would knock them out. c) There is a lack of a much more linear and clear discourse to accumulate forces ”.