The CUP went this Tuesday to the Tarragona Court for the start of the oral trial of the Innova case, in which it acts as popular prosecution, with a double demand on the table. The party demands convictions for those who committed the investigated acts and, at the same time, political responsibilities for the management of the Reus City Council during the analyzed period.
The start of the hearing also comes with one of the most sensitive derivatives of the procedure already underway. Josep Prat and Jorge Batesteza reached agreements with the Prosecutor's Office that imply the recognition of criminal acts and the acceptance of penalties, although their content will not be known until the end of the trial.
The CUP demanded convictions and pointed to the PSC's management in Reus
Aleida López, CUP councilor in Reus, told the media that the party seeks for the trial to end with convictions for those who "really committed these crimes" and that political responsibilities also be assumed. In her speech, she linked the case to the period in which the PSC led the Reus City Council for years.
"What we want is for the trial to end by convicting those who really committed these crimes and, above all, for political responsibilities to be assumed" - Aleida López, CUP councilor in Reus
López added that the idea that no one knew what was happening cannot be conveyed and rejected that responsibilities are not demanded from citizens for that municipal management. The CUP maintains that political responsibilities must be cleared for the decisions adopted during the investigated period in the Reus council.
In that vein, the party recalled that the Court of Accounts issued a resolution in 2018 that forced Josep Prat to compensate the Reus City Council with 900,120 euros for unjustified invoices. The reference to that resolution is incorporated as one of the precedents that the CUP places around the case.
Aleida López linked the case to austerity and Pellicer extended the criticism to the PSC
During her appearance, López argued that the consequences of corruption ended up falling on "normal people" and linked the case to a decade of austerity policies in Reus aimed at settling municipal debt. In her opinion, that process had direct effects on public investment and on the City Council's staff.
"People who worked in the council saw their conditions worsen" - Aleida López, CUP councilor in Reus
The councilwoman attributed that deterioration in working conditions to the period under investigation. She also criticized the duration of the investigation, which has been prolonged for almost 15 years, believing it favors those with more resources to extend the proceedings.
As she explained, that delay allows the investigation to be drawn out, reduces the guarantees of the judicial process, and can end up lowering sentences due to the passage of time. From Parliament, CUP deputy Xavi Pellicer extended the criticism to the PSC and stated that the party has been dragging "structural" corruption since the 2000s, citing the Innova, Inipro, and Mercuri cases.
The sentences accepted by Josep Prat and Jorge Batesteza after their agreements with the Prosecutor's Office will be announced at the end of the oral trial that has just begun in the Tarragona Court.