The banner calling for the "freedom [of the] political prisoners and exiles" has returned to the balcony of the Catalan government palace in Barcelona, the day after the end of the election period. President Quim Torra agreed to remove it on 22nd March following days of back and forth between him and the Central Electoral Commission. The Commission argued that public buildings should be politically neutral during election campaigns, the president argued this infringed the right to freedom of speech.
When the president ignored the Commission's original orders, he was referred to prosecutors to be investigated on a charge of disobedience, leading to him appearing before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia earlier this month.
Torra torna a penjar la pancarta per la llibertat dels presos polítics a la Generalitat✊ pic.twitter.com/q6vBetGIZC
— CridesXLaRepública (@CatEnPeu) 27 de maig de 2019
After appearing in court, Torra gave a speech denouncing what he described as clear bias and political intent from the Commission against the independence movement. "The president of Catalonia can never falter in the conquest of rights and freedoms, and if Spanish democracy doesn't tolerate this defence I'll pay whatever price is necessary," he said.