The Prosecutor’s Office requests Alay spend three years in prison for his trip to New Caledonia

The Examining Magistrate’s Court no. 28 of Barcelona has opened trial proceedings against Josep Lluís Alay, the head of President Puigdemont’s office, for the expenses of a trip to New Caledonia, in which he went as an international observer. The Prosecutor’s Office requests that he be sentenced to three years in prison and seven years of special disqualification for public office for a crime of embezzlement and another ten years of disqualification for a crime of prevarication. The expenses under investigation further include the toll tickets paid during a round trip to Lledoners prison, in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, to visit the political prisoners of 1 October. Proceedings commenced following a lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor’s Office, which also targeted the secretary-general of the Department of the Presidency, Meritxell Masó, for having greenlighted the expenses. However, the lawsuit against Masó was eventually dismissed because it was considered that the control of expenses is more formal than substantive. The Prosecutor’s Office now requests call her to testify at the trial as a witness. The trial against Alay for his trip to New Caledonia is set for 20 and 21 February 2024.