Influential international newspaper Politico has published a report which says that former Catalan vice-president and leader of ERC Oriol Junqueras is the "main figure in what could be the most important criminal case ever brought before a Spanish court". The article follows an interview with Junqueras in Lledoners prison and focuses on the upcoming trial following the 2017 independence push.
They note that he has been held in pretrial detention for 14 months, facing charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. He faces a possible sentence of 25 years' imprisonment. He is now, according to Politico, "the man who will shape Spain’s immediate political future".
During the interview, he says that the trial, which will be broadcast live on TV, is "very important". He also believes that it "isn't going to be fair" and they need to use it as a "lever for democratic change in the face of a state which is regressing in democratic terms".
Even before the trial, Junqueras is already clear that he won't ask for a pardon if the verdict isn't in his favour. “That would be as much as admitting my guilt", he argues, as he maintains his innocence of the charges against him.
In terms of Spain-wide politics, and specifically prime minister Pedro Sánchez looking for pro-independence votes for his 2019 budget, he would only say that the accounts are important, "but rights and liberties are more important". It's unclear how ERC will vote, and their leader doesn't give anything away. Politico note that the party was one of those that voted for the motion of no-confidence in Mariano Rajoy that brought Sánchez to office.
"Dialogue is indispensable", says Junqueras in the interview which was held in December, before the Spanish cabinet meeting in Barcelona. That said, he believes any dialogue "should lead to making proposals and reaching agreements, not to beating about the bush or to making up for the incapacity to assume challenges with courage".
Still committed to independence
"October 1 isn't the end of anything; it's the beginning of everything", he says, referring to the date of the 2017 independence referendum. He says that one of priorities now has to be the "implication of a social and political majority" because "if you're a noisy minority, you don't have any possibility of achieving such a deep change as the one we're proposing".
During the conversation, Junqueras also refers to his Christian values and emphasises that he never felt he was "defying the law", that his strategy has always been "democratic, open to dialogue, and kind".
The paper reports that during the interview, "Junqueras didn't respond when asked if he regretted some of his past deeds". They say that he remains committed to Catalan independence: "In a democracy, no one should end up in jail for putting out ballot boxes".