Warsaw, (EFE).- The Court of Appeal of Rzeszów (Poland) rejected the appeal filed by the lawyer of journalist Pablo González against a new extension of the preventive detention order for alleged espionage.
González was detained for 7 months without a date being set for the prosecutor’s office to bring charges against him.
“The court did not admit the appeal. The judge partially shared my arguments but decided to maintain the extension of the arrest,” lawyer Bartosz Rogala, who represents the journalist in Polish justice, told EFE. .
Pablo González was arrested at the end of February in Przemysl, where he was covering the refugee crisis caused by Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Accused of alleged espionage
The Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) accused the informant, who has dual Spanish-Russian nationality, of carrying out activities for the Russian military intelligence GRU for which he could face up to 10 years in prison.
First, a three-month detention order was issued, which has since been extended twice.
Tuesday’s decision is a response to Gonzalez’s attorney’s appeal against the last extension made in August.
The prosecutor’s office then argued that Pablo González should remain in custody due to existing concerns of “procedural fraud and risk of absconding given that the suspect faces a heavy sentence if convicted.”
On Sunday, on the initiative of the Basque Association of Journalists, the directors of the Basque press published a statement in which they demanded respect for the human rights and procedural guarantees of journalists.
According to the statement, González suffers from unacceptable conditions of detention such as solitary confinement, does not normally receive correspondence and is not allowed to receive visits from his family.
The brief points out that so far, the prosecutor’s office has presented no evidence to public opinion that would justify the arrest.
The previous week, Pablo González’s partner, Oihana Goiriena, had criticized Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for not actively seeking ways to help the journalist.
Web editor: Rocio Casas