Pablo Hasél and ten other defendants go on trial before the Provincial Court of Lleida in relation to the protests in Lleida over the arrest of Carles Puigdemont in Germany, which will end up in acquittals

The Prosecutor’s Office is accusing them of damage, public disturbance, attacking authority, causing injuries, and three counts of causing minor injuries, and is calling for prison sentences of five years and three months for six of the defendants and five years and nine months for Hasél, as a repeat offender. The prosecutor is also seeking a 3,600-euro fine and civil liability to compensate the Ministry of the Interior. Four of the defendants accept the charges and are sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence and a 1,350-euro fine. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants were protesting in front of the Spanish government’s sub-delegation in Lleida with the intention of ‘interfering with the police operation deployed to protect the building, and seeking to entering said building.’ During the trial, the prosecutor states that, while it cannot be proven that any of the defendants attacked the officers, ‘four officers were injured and someone’s got to pay for that.’ The evidence presented by the Civil Guard are low-resolution photos, pro-independence flags, a yellow ribbon and an Òmnium Cultural banner with the word ‘democracy.’ Pablo Hasél, currently serving a sentence in the Ponent jail, will enter the trial in handcuffs, although they are removed during the sessions, and is surrounded by six Mossos d’Esquadra officers. The trial will last two days. In February 2023, Barcelona Provincial Audience will acquit the defendants.