Oihana Goirinea: Being in solitary confinement, Pablo cannot dismantle the information campaign against him

JAYRO SANCHEZ

Oihana Goirinea is the wife of Pablo González, the Spanish journalist arrested by the Polish authorities on February 28, 2022 and later accused of being a spy for the Russian intelligence services. González is a freelance journalist who collaborates for various outlets, specializing in coverage of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet countries. He has been detained in solitary confinement in a maximum security unit of a Polish prison for almost 15 months. 

Pablo was arrested in Poland 14 months ago. Since then, he has remained in pretrial detention awaiting trial. What is he accused of?

According to article 130.1 of the Polish Criminal Code, the accusation he faces is that of espionage. This crime can be punished with up to 10 years in prison, depending on the seriousness of the case.

What is your current situation?

He is in pretrial detention and awaiting trial. No specific charges have been filed against him, but he has been classified as a dangerous prisoner, for which reason he is locked up in a maximum security module and in isolation.

Preventive detention can only be extended for 3 months. After that period of time, a judge has to rule whether it is still necessary to maintain it. In the case of Pablo, 4 extensions have already been approved. The next valuation hearing will take place at the end of May.

“HIS LAWYER HAS TOLD ME TO TALK TO THE MEDIA, TO GO WITH THE TRUTH BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE”

How has your defense team recommended you act?

No specific instructions have been provided to us. The only thing his lawyer has told me, and it was at the beginning, is to talk to the media. And that I go with the truth ahead, since I have nothing to hide.

The Ukrainian secret services interrogated him shortly before his arrest in Poland, and the National Intelligence Center (CNI) also came to your house to ask about him when Pablo was not there. Are these facts related?

I think so. Doesn't that seem like a coincidence? What they will have to explain is what the common link is. The CNI came in two vans. I was able to count 8 agents. The two people I spoke to told me that some of the individuals who showed up were from the National Police, but I don't know who they were because they were all in plain clothes.

The newspaper El Mundo published a piece of news a few days ago stating that, according to the Russian media agentstvo, Pablo would have collected data on certain exiled members of the Russian opposition for years. What do you think about this latest information?

I am not going to assess or try to explain some accusations made by way of a leak. A few days after his arrest, a Polish media outlet published that he was carrying false passports in an incriminating tone. However, the fact that he carried several passports had a perfectly legal and justifiable explanation.

I am sure that these actions of which you are accused are just as explicable. The problem is that he can't defend himself. Not even his lawyers have access to the entire file. With his defense team hampered by legal obstacles and him incommunicado, promoting a campaign of information intoxication against him is much easier.

What relationship does Paul have with Russia really?

He was born in Moscow. He is the grandson of one of the children who evacuated to the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). His parents divorced, and he came to Spain at the age of 9 with his mother, who is of Russian and Spanish descent. But his father still lives in Moscow and Pablo visits him frequently. His ties with this country only have a family character.

“THE EXTENSION OF THE PREVENTIVE PRISON WOULD NOT BE SUPPORTED BEFORE AN IMPARTIAL COURT”

Is the Polish justice system providing you with adequate procedural guarantees?

From my point of view, no. The extensions of preventive detention have been carried out thanks to 4 arguments that would not be sustained before an impartial court. The Polish judiciary believes that, if he is released, he could escape or impede the investigation in some way. In addition, the suspicion that he may have committed a crime and the high range of the sentence also seem to be important grounds that explain the favorable sentence for this precautionary measure.

It seems to me very serious that they have not yet set a date for the holding of his trial. When they arrested him, they said they had more than enough evidence to support the accusation. However, he has been in the same situation for more than a year.

Likewise, Poland has bothered to ask Spain for explanations about Pablo's nationality through a request to the National Court only one year after his arrest. It is clear that he is in no hurry. I don't know if all these issues are typical of a fair judicial procedure, but they seem excessive to me.

Is it normal that Pablo has entered preventive detention without an exact trial date?

I don't have a clear answer to that question, but maybe it's within the law. From what I have been told, he could be in this situation for up to 8 years.

"WE DO NOT DEMAND THE GOVERNMENT TO DEFEND PABLO, ONLY THAT IT STOP ACTING AS ASSISTANT TO THE POLISH PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE"

The Spanish Executive has not yet ruled on his arrest. What would you ask of his family and friends?

The same thing I've been saying for 14 months now. We do not demand that you defend Pablo because for that he has lawyers. But he doesn't have to act as an assistant to the Polish Prosecutor's Office either... A Spanish representative has appeared in the media saying that there are very serious charges against him. I think that, with this statement, he loses any hint of neutrality and attacks his right to the presumption of innocence, one of the basic principles of the rule of law.

We also don't want you to pressure to release him immediately, since the execution of that request is not within your competence. By the way, he has had no problem doing this for American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia. It is seen that he is not capable of assisting one of his own citizens under the same conditions...

The only thing we want is for such basic rights to be respected, such as those relating to contact with your family: we expect the approval of regular visits and the organization of telephone calls. Pablo hasn't talked to his children for 14 months. It seems that nothing happens here...

And what about your colleagues?

A little bravery. I know you're scared, because basically this is a warning to journalists. They are warning them: "Be careful with what you say and with the sources that you collect because you can end up like this." It must be that now, when a war breaks out, any action is justified. I don't know who it was that said that there is no better censorship than self-censorship.

Since you mention this, with all the pressure being put on the "alternative" media not reporting the "official" story about the war in Ukraine: do you think governments really stand up for freedom of information?

In public yes. However, when the media spotlights go out, that defense is no longer so active. If they cover up attacks on press freedom, as in the case of Pablo, it is clear that his actions are not consistent with his speech.

Jayro sanchez he is a journalist.