WORLD MUST HEAR ABOUT THIS:

alexis · WORLD MUST HEAR ABOUT THIS:

Spanish authorities have prosecuted a child for considering him being a terrorist! Incredible but true!

14-year-old Èric Bertran e-mailed companies requesting labeling in Catalan language, using the "Phoenix Army" monicker from the Harry Potter books. The Spanish police accused him of organizing an Al Qaeda cell. The authorities took him all the way to the Spanish High Court.

From August 27 to September 2, we're getting the word out, through blogs, press releases, and other media. Here's the idea: We want this film about the Èric Bertran case to be seen as many times as possible from September 3rd to 9th, so that it ends up ranking in the "most watched" circuit.

Through this coordinated effort, with the help of new communications and information technologies, we hope to get some international coverage of this case, and the true deficit of democracy in the Spanish State, as well as the fact that the Catalan people are now demanding their right to define themselves as a sovereign nation.

The documentary has been uploaded to YouTube in five parts. Here's the link to the first part of the video, for the purposes of the mass viewing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIiRFSCgGu4

SLG

Al Qaeda are trying to promote the Catalan language now eh!

Does anyone remember how old that kid was who got arrested for trying to petrol bomb Clackmannanshire council offices?

Aventinian

There's often more to these situations than biased correspondants care to report. Excuse me if I take it with a pinch of salt.

Avatar

I think he was about 13- 15

RFM

It seems that Aventian is right on this one.

The boy, aged 14 years, apparently thought he would advance the cause of independence for Catalunia, by demanding that large businesses label their products in Catalan rather than Spanish. Unfortunately he accompanied his demands with threats of violence, describing himself as a spokesman for the "Army of the Phoenix" some sort of a mysterious armed organization. Needless to say the police were not quite sure what to make of him and an armed raid was the result seizing his computer, by which he delivered his threats and demands and any other evidence of the offense of terrorist activity.
The bright side of the whole thing from little Eric's point of view is that the Spanish treat minors who are involved in crime in a separate part of their criminal justice system, rather than as adults. Of course the Catalunian activists see this as a return to the dark days of the dictator and repression. More to come I guess; congrats to Adventian.

Holebender

RFM

Too true, Holebander,

Sadly enough the whole thing got started when the police in America began spreading the story that criminals were using children to commit crimes, mainly drug dealing, because the penalties were much less severe for them. These were of course children with black faces. States immediately began passing laws giving prosecutors discretion to charge children as adults, which undermined the whole purpose and rationale for juvenile courts, which is rehabilitation of a child who is young , impressionable and relies on adults for guidance.
Witness Jena. Louisiana, where white school children get into a fight they are charged with misdemeanors; black children catch felony charges. That is not only common to the south, but represents a pervasive pattern of police repression by race.

sandmountainslim

RFM

By "Statist" I assume you mean a person who advocates power and authority for the state, local and national? If so the answer is No!

If there is any doubt whatever that racism is a principal discriminating issue in American politics and criminal law, one need only look at the population of our prisons and Jena, Louisiana.

Americans I observe have a tradition of trying to resolve differences in opinion by passing laws making the controversial criminal. What they fail to understand is that government can only deal with certain tasks and there are certain tasks that government should stay away from because they have no ability to deal with them. For instance, government can not regulate morality and all of the laws against sexual conduct can not be effectively enforced. On the other hand, maintaining the streets and roads is not something private enterprise can deal with because nobody can make money doing it.

sandmountainslim