CHARGES against a young Scot in prison in Barcelona are for relatively minor public order offences and are not related to more serious allegations made against Italian and French “anarchist” protesters, according to documentation from the court.
Catalan newspaper El Nacional (elnacional.cat) has had access to the documents arising from protests last month in support of jailed rapper Pablo Hasel. It said the allegations against William Aitken, who has lived in Barcelona for four years, are minor compared to those of attempted homicide, attacks on police officers and membership of a criminal group levelled at other demonstrators.
El Nacional said the 30-year-old has no criminal record in Catalonia but has been accused of throwing objects at police officers and pulling asphalt from the road and throwing it at police vans.
Aitken has a UK passport and lives and works in Barcelona’s Sant Antoni district with his partner, Fernanda Soler.
He is a passionate skateboarder and on February 17, on a day where there were demonstrations taking place, he went out with his skateboard and was arrested in Plaça de Catalunya in the centre of the city.
The Scot was reportedly seen by plainclothes officers from the Catalan police Mossos d’Esquadra, allegedly throwing objects. They followed him and later arrested him.
Protests over rapper Hasel’s imprisonment carried on for more than a week and some resulted in riots.
Police investigations are continuing and images from the disturbances are still being analysed.
READ MORE: Scot jailed without charge in Barcelona 'doing well', partner says
The National yesterday published an interview with Soler, in which she said Aitken left home with his skateboard and never returned. She only found out the following morning he had been arrested.
She has been able to see him three times since he was jailed and said he is being treated well.
Soler added that Aitken was taking Spanish classes and had made friends in prison, with whom he plays sport to counter the long hours he is locked up.
Aitken is also receiving letters from friends outside the prison, from Catalans and also from Scotland.
David Aranda, a lawyer for Alerta Solidària (Solidarity Alert), who is defending Aitken, told El Nacional they had filed an appeal against the confinement injunction and they are now waiting for the provincial court to resolve, which could take three or four weeks.
He said the fact that he has only been jailed for a “possible” risk of escape weakens the decision to keep him incarcerated.
When and if he is finally released, Aitken will have to answer for the charges of public disorder and two other minor offences later, when the investigation is over and the trial is opened.
There are three reasons a judge can use to order pre-trial detention – the risk of absconding, possible destruction of evidence and the possibility of re-offending.
However, Aitken’s lawyer believes that neither of the three applies to the 30-year-old, who has no criminal record in Barcelona or Scotland.
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