‘Robin Hood’ mayor found guilty after leading military squat

JUAN Manuel Sanchez Gordillo, better known as the ‘Robin Hood’ mayor of Marinaleda, has been sentenced to seven months imprisonment by the Andalucian High Court after leading a group of workers to squat in a disused Ministry of Defence site.

Charismatic mayor Sanchez Gordillo was charged with trespass and civil disobedience after leading a group of labourers from the Andalucian Union of Workers (SAT) to take possession of the military land, demanding that it be lent to farmers, in Sevilla last August.

Although – due to the nature of the sentence – he is unlikely to actually spend any time in prison, Gordillo was also ordered to pay a fine of €760.

Gordillo and SAT spokesperson Diego Canamero were given identical sentences, while three others were found guilty of trespass.

Of the total 59 defendants, only three turned up for the hearing.

The rest, led by Gordillo and Canamero, staged a protest outside the court, against what they termed ‘repression of the SAT’.

Gordillo rose to prominence last year after raiding two supermarkets to provide food for vulnerable families, earning him the title ‘the Robin Hood mayor’.

Marinaleda has bucked the national economic trend, with near 100% employment.