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INPRIMATU
Prosecutor's Office Withdraws Charges Against The Nine Members of Gaztetxe Sastraka
  • The oral session of the trial against nine members of the Gaztetxe Sastraka to be held in Barakaldo's court is suspended. The defence of the defendants has called for the prescription of the minor offence of occupation that is charged to them and the prosecution has withdrawn the charges.

Julene Flamarique 2024ko azaroaren 06a
Epaitutako bederatzi gazteei elkartasun adierazpena Barakaldoko epaitegian Sastraka Gaztetxea

The Christian school Nuestra Señora del Carmen de Portugalete was occupied by several young people in summer 2020, after years of neglect. They became a gaztetxe of Portugalete and began to offer a political and cultural alternative “beyond the logic of capitalism”, offering a “collective space” to the people of Portugalete. The building's owner has now filed a complaint about a minor occupation crime against nine young people, and the first case was held in Barakaldo's court on Tuesday.

Naiz has reported that the defence of the four defendants has raised the prescription of the minor offence of occupation that is charged to them, having spent more than four years since the occupation of the building. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has acknowledged this and has withdrawn his charges, and has therefore suspended the oral trial, which has already been concluded. The judge shall give an order for a foreseeable dismissal within two or three weeks.

If the prosecution fails to file the case, the trial will resume within four to five months. On the contrary, as explained by the defence of the defendants in Tele7, if the case is filed, the owner of the building could choose to open criminal proceedings against other persons and to initiate a civil recovery process of property.

Sastraka members have stated that it is a trial of "a worldview and a collective struggle" rather than the nine young people who seek to "criminalize and punish" the occupation movement. Before the court they have shown their solidarity with the nine young people and have reiterated that they will continue their work and their actions.