Sandro Rosell’s lawyer, Paul Molinsannounced this Monday that he will sue the retired commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo as a result of the information from EL PERIÓDICO that revealed that the ‘sewers’ of the Police hatched the investigation that led to the prison of the former president of FC Barcelona, who after almost two years in preventive detention was acquitted by the National Court. The complaint will also include some statements by Villarejo in which he affirmed that the judge who sent his client to provisional prison, Carmen Lamelawas awarded a transfer to the Supreme Court for this imprisonment.
EL PERIÓDICO has had access to documents, witnesses and recordings that show that Commissioner José Manuel Villarejo initiated the investigations against Rosell under the umbrella of the ‘Barna Project’ or ‘Operation Catalunya’which is the name given to the irregular investigation opened by the PP government police to accuse Catalan politicians and characters supposedly from their circle of crimes of corruption.
The investigation that sent Rosell to jail began in 2015 and remained secret until his arrest in 2017. But there is a recording that shows that on the day of the arrest of the former Barça president, a police officer called Jose Luis Perezcomplainant and person with whom Villarejo had contacted in 2014, to thank him for his collaboration in the case.
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Villarejo himself wrote on January 10, 2014 in his diary the first quote related to his investigation into Rosell, who from different political sectors was accused of having put the FC Barcelona at the service of Catalan independence. The commissioner wrote in his agenda: “José L. Pérez. See us Hotel Fénix 6 pm. Monday.” A few days later, on January 28, 2014, the commissioner again mentions the former president of Barça: “José Luis Pérez. Friend of Viki [Victoria Álvarez, exnovia de Jordi Pujol Ferrusola y principal testigo en el ‘caso Pujol’]. He wants to talk on Monday to continue with the Rosell issue and the rest”. Pérez has confirmed the meeting with Villarejo.
In an interview with RAC-1 this Monday, collected by Europa Press, Molins explained why he will start with Villarejo: “Filing a lawsuit against Lamela would mean that the investigation would have to be carried out by the supreme court and I don’t want to, because she’s in there”. “I’m very sorry I’ll have to start against Villarejo”, and he has said that he will first contact the ex-commissioner’s lawyer to contrast his statements on TV3.
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The lawyer has also called for the Judiciary to act: “I would like the judicial system will react The Public Prosecutor should be the first interested party” to clarify what has happened. He has added that if what Villarejo says is true, a case was mounted expressly against Rosell, and he has remarked that he entered prison “in the prelude to the referendum.”
Rosell was acquitted at the National High Court after almost two years in preventive detention after being arrested for an alleged money laundering. The National Court is processing the lawsuit filed by Rosell as a result of the damage caused by his imprisonment. The State Attorney has made a counteroffer to the claim of €29 million that Rosell proposes as compensation for the 645 days that he spent in provisional prison before being acquitted. The Government’s offer is limited to €18,000.