Spain's National Court grants three activists accused of terrorism bail

CDR activists will have to pay €5,000 and comply with conditions

Spanish police officers detaining one of the CDR activists accused of terrorism in Sabadell on September 23, 2019 (by Miquel Codolar)
Spanish police officers detaining one of the CDR activists accused of terrorism in Sabadell on September 23, 2019 (by Miquel Codolar) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

December 20, 2019 02:55 PM

Spain's National Court has agreed to release three pro-independence Committee for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) activists accused of terrorism on bail.

Xavier Buigas, Guillem Xavier Duch and Eduardo Garzón, who have been in prison since September 23, will have to pay €5,000 and cannot leave the country. They will also have to report to their local court every Monday.

Spain's public prosecutor had asked that bail be set at €9,000 while the private prosecution undertaken by the Catalan Association of Terrorist Organization Victims (ACVOT) had requested that they not be granted bail at all.

While the facts under investigation still relate to whether they were members of a terrorist organization, conspired to cause damage, and possessed explosives for terror purposes, hearings suggest that the three in question did not actively make or own any.

Although they could still be found guilty, the judges overlooking the case could not justify their preventive detention despite what they have described as the "relevant probability of guilt."