‘Robin Hood’ of Spain refuses to testify

PUBLISHED: August 13, 2012 at 6:30 pm  •  LAST EDITED: August 13, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Andalucia, Lead, National News  •  0 Comments

• Sanchez with fellow union member

A MAYOR who led hundreds of workers to steal food from supermarkets to feed the poor has ignored the warrant for his arrest and refused to appear in court.

Juan Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, mayor of the Communist town of Marinaleda in Sevilla, has said that the government minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, who issued the warrant ‘is futile and does not know the laws’.

Gordillo, leader of the United Left party (IU), said that because of his seat in regional government, he is not required to testify unless summoned by The Supreme Court of Justice.

The left-wing mayor said: “Diaz should learn the law and learn to respect the Statute of Autonomy, which is being violated, because I have not been called by The Supreme Court.”

Gordillo and other protesters had also taken over a farm near Osuna, demanding a more equal distribution of land in the Andalucia region.

The group, who had planted vegetables on the unused land, were moved off the site by Guardia Civil on Friday.

So far five people have been arrested in relation to the food raids.

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