Oihana Goiriena (on the right), wife of Pablo González, and her lawyer, Gonzalo Boye (on the screen), speak this Monday in the Basque Parliament.Basque Parliament
The family and lawyer of Basque journalist Pablo González, arrested in Poland at the end of February accused of spying for Russia, are still unable to speak to him almost four months after his arrest.
His wife, Oihana Goiriena, stated this Monday in the Basque Parliament that during this period she has only received two letters sent by her husband, which she received in June and two months late, and that she is denied permission to communicate with him over the phone or in person.
“It is scandalous, the situation is absurd”, she declared before the political representatives of the Basque Chamber.
She has also regretted that the Spanish government has not given her any explanation about the reporter's situation.
Pablo González was arrested during the night of February 27-28 in the Polish city of Przemysl by the authorities of that country.
He is accused of espionage activities for Russia.
The Government of the Central European country then released a note detailing that the Internal Security Agency (ABW) captured the journalist "on suspicion" of "participating in foreign intelligence activities against Poland."
His family only knows that he is in a Polish prison, confined in a “maximum security” penitentiary module.
“He is incommunicado”, his wife has said.
González's family assures that they only have information that has been provided by the Spanish consul in that country.
According to Goiriena, her husband is "in good health", but has lost 20 kilos of weight.
He plays sports, writes and is “optimistic” and, although he is aware that he may be waiting for a trial for two years, something that he faces “with energy”, his wife has declared in parliament.
The reporter's wife added that the Polish lawyer assigned to her, with whom he maintains weekly communication, cannot offer her much information about the detainee's procedural situation because he "is forbidden to talk about it."
Journalist Pablo González, in a February image released by Reporters Without Borders.@PABVIS
Pablo González, resident in Gernika (Bizkaia) and with dual Spanish and Russian nationality, is the father of three children.
At the time of his arrest, he was in Poland covering the refugee crisis following the outbreak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After his arrest, the Przemysl regional court agreed to the Prosecutor's request and agreed on May 25 to extend the temporary arrest for another three months, a decision that is being appealed by his lawyer.
"His children want to know that his father is there," Goiriena said in an appearance requested by the Elkarrekin Podemos group.
On May 26, the groups PNV, EH Bildu, Elkarrekin Podemos-IU and at the last minute also the PSE-EE signed a declaration in defense of the rights of the Basque journalist who did not receive the support of the PP-Ciudadanos and Vox.
These parties, among other aspects, stated that there are no "explanations" or "justifications" to extend the provisional imprisonment of the reporter, collaborator of the newspaper
Público
and La Sexta, by three months.
The journalist's lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, in a brief telematic intervention before the Commission for European Affairs and Foreign Action of the autonomous Legislature, has again denounced this Monday that the situation that González is experiencing "is outside the legal framework of the European Union" , and has lamented the "lack of interest" of the Spanish Government to guarantee their rights and that they have a "fair trial".
He has assured that he has not yet been able to visit him.
Nor does he have a direct relationship with him, nor has he received information about his procedural situation.
“It is a tremendously anomalous situation,” he concluded.