A heckler repeatedly interrupted the Spanish prime minister just as he was announcing that on Tuesday his cabinet would approve pardons for the nine Catalan pro-independence leaders serving jail terms. Just as Pedro Sánchez reached the point of confirming that his executive will pass the measure tomorrow, shouts were heard from the audience of the Gran Teatre del Liceu for about thirty seconds, as at least one person mentioned some of the propositions which the Spanish PM didn't include in his speech, shouting "Independence is the only solution!", warning of the error of "agreeing to" the pardons, and demanding an amnesty. "Long live the land!" he boomed out, his chants received by grumbling from some other audience members at the Barcelona opera house event.
The shouts could be heard, but were not seen, as the broadcast of the conference was controlled from the Moncloa government palace. Sánchez tried not to let the flow of his speech be interrupted, but when other audience members replied, he was forced to pause a few times. A video published on social media shows the young man taking to his feet and holding up a pro-independence estelada flag, as well as the flag of the left-wing group Arran:
"Long live the land", the young independence supporter calls out from the stalls. "Independence is the only solution. Don't agree to the pardons, they are what the state needs." "There is no middle solution to a conflict where the choices are either independence or submission." Arran's tweet also calls for "amnesty for all those facing reprisals".
Just as the Spanish prime minister made the improvised response that "here in the theatre, all opinions are valid" the Mossos d'Esquadra proceeded to check the man's identify and the incident ended.
Tension outside
The chants inside the Liceu added to a tension outside, with pro-independence groups as well as some unionists speaking out against Sánchez’s presence to announce the granting of pardons to the political prisoners who have been jailed for well over three years and were convicted in 2019 for sedition.
Hundreds of people gathered on Barcelona's Rambla to demand an amnesty law and Catalonia's right to self-determination, while the Liceu was protected by a strong police presence.
What will pardons be like?
The Spanish cabinet will officially grant the pardons to the nine pro-independence political prisoners tomorrow, Tuesday. The Moncloa has already prepared all the machinery, politics and technology. This afternoon, at half past four, a special telematic meeting of the government secretaries and undersecretaries has been called, to be chaired by deputy PM Carmen Calvo. It is the step carried out prior to including matters on the agenda of the cabinet, and is usually held on Thursdays.
The pardons will be partial and reversible, and taking into account the circumstances of each of the nine political prisoners. It is estimated that each file, individualized, will consist of about thirty pages of text to justify the measure. Once approved by the cabinet, they must be signed by the king, Felipe VI. Then, they are to be published in the official Spanish government gazette and applied by the Supreme Court, which will have to recalculate the sentences. All in all, the release of the prisoners is expected on Wednesday.
One possibility is for the pardons to remove the sentences for the crime of sedition for which the Supreme Court convicted 9 of the 12 tried by the trial. They are Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Raül Romeva, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell, Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull, Jordi Sànchez, and Jordi Cuixart.