Disqualified former CUP MP to appeal disobedience ruling to Constitutional Court

Pau Juvillà, whose disobedience sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court yesterday, has called the case against him "Kafkaesque."

The former CUP MP has also announced he will appeal the decision to the Constitutional Court.

In an interview with Més 3/24, the former Lleida city councillor questioned whether the symbol of the yellow ribbon could be considered political propaganda, with which, in his opinion, people "of different ideologies could feel identified."

He also criticized the fact he was accused of not being impartial during the electoral campaign for an election in which his party, CUP, did not stand in.

For these reasons, he explained, he will appeal the sentence to the Constitutional Court with the idea of eventually reaching the European justice system, which is "a space where we can have a certain recognition."

Pau Juvillà case

Juvillà's case dates back to the 2019 municipal election period, when Juvillà was a Lleida city council member, and he did not remove yellow ribbons from the CUP office in the town hall. 

Since late 2017 following the referendum deemed illegal by Spain, yellow ribbons have come to signal solidarity with the formerly jailed independence leaders as well as those who have moved abroad to avoid being prosecuted for their actions. 

Ciudadanos, a center-right party that is staunchly against splitting with Spain and that used to be Catalonia's largest opposition party, lodged a complaint against Juvillà with the Electoral Board for displaying what they described as partisan symbols during an electoral period.

Despite this, on April 3, 2019, the then-councilor refused to take them down in an act of defiance that led to disobedience charges. The yellow ribbons were eventually taken down by Mossos d'Esquadra police officers.