Former CUP activist Benet Salellas will be the lawyer who will defend Santos Cerdán

The alleged corruption case that is cornering PSOE and President Pedro Sánchez's government has taken an unexpected turn. PSOE had offered its legal services to Santos Cerdán, but the lawyer has resigned due to incompatibility. After being left without legal representation, the former organization secretary of PSOE has entrusted his defense to Catalan lawyer and former CUP deputy, Benet Salellas.

Salellas, who is also the brother of the CUP mayor in Girona, will take on Cerdán's defense before the Supreme Court case. He is an experienced lawyer, who defended, among others, the former president of Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart, in the Procés trial.

He has also taken on the defense of several pro-separatism activists involved in legal cases.

Benet Salellas began his career in 2003, and since then he has participated in high-profile cases such as Operation Garzón against the separatism movement. His law firm achieved the first conviction against Spain by an international court. Now he is reaching a new level, with the defense of Santos Cerdán, former organization secretary of PSOE.

Incompatibility

Lawyer Gonzalo Martínez-Fresneda has refused to defend Santos Cerdán after his resignation from his seat as deputy. The attorney took on Cerdán's defense last Friday. His first decision was to inform Supreme Court judge Leopoldo Puente that his client accepted the offer to testify voluntarily.

The Supreme Court sees strong evidence against the former number three of the socialists, after learning the contents of the UCO report from the Civil Guard. That's why they offered Cerdán the chance to testify voluntarily. He put himself in the hands of Martínez-Fresneda, a criminal lawyer who has defended several PSOE officials accused of corruption.

However, the attorney himself resigned this Monday, citing incompatibility in a case in which he himself acts as PSOE's representative. Martínez-Fresneda will continue representing the party in the ongoing case regarding the Koldo affair, which led to the investigation against Cerdán.

Deputy from the golden age of CUP

Santos Cerdán has decided to entrust his defense to Benet Salellas, a lawyer with extensive experience in cases related to the Spanish state. For example, he defended separatism activists accused of burning photos of the king. He has also defended those linked to the CDR and Tsunami Democràtic during the years of the procés.

This has given him great experience in defending cases before the National Court, the Constitutional Court, or the Supreme Court itself.

Beyond his professional profile, the news has caused a shock due to the political trajectory of Santos Cerdán's lawyer. Salellas was elected deputy for CUP in 2015, and led the party's golden era alongside figures such as Anna Gabriel, Antonio Baños, Quim Arrufat, Josep Manel Busqueta, and Eulàlia Reguant.