News: The Public Prosecutor seeks 18 months in prison for Anglada for xenophobic pamphlets

The accusation is also directed against Juan Carlos Fuentes, member of the City Council of Vic.

ElPais.com 15.01.2011

The judicial mechanism to put a stop to Josep Anglada’s distribution of xenophobic pamphlets  carries on. The Public Prosecutor has presented a written accusation against the leader of the Plataforma per Catalunya (PxC) for a crime of provocation to discriminate, which asks for a year and a half in prison and a fine of 4,860 euros. The accusation is also directed against Juan Carlos Fuentes, member of the City Council of Vic (Osona), like Anglada was when the events occurred, and who the Public Prosecutor has indicated at the person in charge of the pamphlets.

It happened on May 24, 2007, relates Public Prosecutor Miguel Ángel Aguilar, when Fuentes arrived at a copy shop in Vic and ordered 3,000 copies of a satirical pamphlet, which they distributed among the population. The Public Prosecutor’s Office considers that both things were done with the knowledge and authorization of Anglada. The posters, says the Public Prosecutor, were intended to “provoke among the population feelings of hostility, antagonism, contempt, and unjustifiably unequal treatment against the Maghreb population” and concretely against those who practice the Muslim religion.

The pamphlets asked the residents of Vic to vote for the “democratic parties” in the municipal elections of 2007 and enumerated those who had Maghreb members on their lists. They assured that these members would give favorable treatment to immigrants and guaranteed “papers for all.” The pamphlet contained disparaging comments such as: “our driver’s licenses, although they are not valid to drive in Spain, served us well to drive camels over the beautiful Saharan deserts” and “we are poor and cannot even pay as many taxes as do you, who are disloyal but fortunate by the grace of Allah, the one true God.”

Anti-racist associations reported the distribution of the pamphlets, but the case judge lowered the charges to a misdemeanor. There was an appeal and the Court of Barcelona raised it to an offense. Now, after the written accusation of the Public Prosecutor, Anglada is very close to the dock.