‘Historic’ victory for S'ha Acabat: 2 years in prison for the UPF strikers

Until recently, Catalan universities were a private preserve of separatism and the radical left. The patriotic student union S'ha Acabat has managed to challenge totalitarianism and gradually carve out a space for itself in the universities. This week, it has achieved a new and important victory in the courts.

The Barcelona Provincial Court has increased the sentence for four separatists who assaulted S'ha Acabat from 18 months to two years. The events took place at the organizations fair at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in February 2022. The convicted individuals attacked the patriotic union's booth and expelled its members from the premises.

Criminal Court No. 20 of Barcelona sentenced the accused to one and a half years in prison. Both the defense and the prosecution filed appeals. The Provincial Court has dismissed the defense's appeals, while it has agreed to increase the sentence as requested by the prosecution.

There was ideological discrimination

The court has agreed to reduce the amount the accused must pay in civil liability. However, it has determined that the assault was motivated by ideological reasons, and for that reason, it has increased the sentence from one and a half years to two.

The ruling, now final, concludes that the accused prevented the exercise of the right of assembly through the use of violence. Furthermore, they did so driven by a "rejection and intolerance toward the ideology" of those assaulted.

The court considers it appropriate to raise the classification, which changes from simple coercion to a crime against essential rights with the aggravating factor of ideological discrimination. For this reason, it sentences the accused to a two-year prison term. Leftist and antifascist organizations have warned of a "judicial drift" that criminalizes the "right to protest."

"We will keep fighting"

The S'ha Acabat union has proclaimed victory and has expressed its intention to "keep fighting totalitarianism." In a message on X, the students have expressed their satisfaction with the ruling. "With this ruling, justice says loud and clear that ideological discrimination and totalitarianism have no place in universities."

S'ha Acabat has described the ruling as a "historic precedent" in the defense of "freedom of expression." Recently, they also managed to overturn the ban at the organizations fair at UAB. The union continues to rack up victories in the courts and expand spaces of freedom in Catalan public universities.