Sergeant Escolà's travels through Europe: the 'bad' shadow that escorted Puigdemont

Carles Puigdemont responded to the sentence on Miquel Buch and Lluís Escolà with an incendiary tweet. The escaped former president described the court ruling as “barbarism”. But he said something more interesting: “They are condemned for a crime that they have not committed, only for the fact that they have been loyal and committed politically and personally to me.”. Buch and Escolà were convicted of simulating the hiring of the sergeant as an advisor to the counselor so that in this way he could take care of a unique clandestine and illegal escort to Puigdemont, both in Belgium and on his trips throughout Europe..

During the trial, which took place in mid-July, Puigdemont declared by videoconference that Escolà “is a person of whom I am a friend, who deserves all my trust”: “Furthermore, he is a patriot and if he is here it is to lend a service to the country and for no other reason”. Without knowing it, he was giving the clues that corroborated all the indications that there was something suspicious in the work of the police sergeant.. What was the service to the country? From what it seems, from the context, from the indications and evidence provided in the process, it was none other than to guarantee the personal safety of the fugitive..

Escolà became, since October 30, 2017, when he helped the former president flee Spain hidden in a car, a faithful Rigodón of the fugitive. Not only was there a personal and ideological connection between the two, but the sergeant organized the entire security device through which his boss and friend was going to pass.. Escolà was something more than an acolyte, he was a fundamental piece in the gears of Puigdemont's team. That is why I followed him by land, sea and air when he was officially supposed to be serving in the Mossos escort area, which was his destination for more than two decades..

It has been proven that Escolà followed his protégé everywhere from the moment of the escape.. For example, he was detected in Brussels on December 6 and 21, 2017; in Copenhagen, January 22, 2018. On January 25, again in Brussels, and in Leuven, on February 6. “During the period between October 30, 2017 and July 20, 2018, Mr. Escolà did not carry out a single day of active service in his own activity as an official of the Autonomous Police, having been detected by the investigating police force (…) numerous departures abroad, in order to reduce custody and security duties for the already accused rebel Mr. Puigdemont,” the Prosecutor's Office said in its indictment..

The reports made by the Mossos d'Esquadra about his partner leave no room for doubt about the sergeant's life journey alongside the fugitive from justice.. There is an anecdote that illustrates very well the nature of his attachment. Two days later, when his designation appeared in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat (DOGC), he was still on Belgian soil with the former president.. He didn't even show up at the counseling, which would be logical.. But it must also be taken into account how bizarre the appointment was, as well as the conditions of the advisor: he was not assigned an office, nor a cell phone, nor a computer. Something smelled rotten from the first moment.

A week later, he boasted on Twitter of his willingness to go beyond the rules: “41 weeks taking charge of the MHPG [Molt Honorable President of the Generalitat]. As long as it is not legal, it will be done legitimately.” Then he added: “Don't suffer, there are many more of us who take care of him than it seems.” And on September 8 of that year, he recalled: “45 weeks. We have been with him in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Scotland and Sweden.” And two days later, he added: “46 weeks. We added Switzerland.”

On October 11, it expanded its radius of action: “50 weeks. We add Faroe Islands”. He remained in that territory until October 14, when he published another revealing message: “Goodbye, Faroe. A place”. The arrogance emanating from his comments and tweets was what, in the end, served to determine exactly what his work was and even place him with photographs in different places in Europe with Carles Puigdemont. It was the shadow of the former president. If we add to that the comments through social networks, the truth is revealed like a photograph.

Thus, apart from his message on September 8 where he mentioned the countries he had passed through, the Mossos detected Escolà in Innerleithen (Scotland) on August 24, 2018.. On September 9, I was in Delemont (Switzerland). On October 2 he was located in Amsterdam (Holland). On October 11, in Torshavvn (Faroe Islands). On October 24 and 25, it stopped in Geneva (Switzerland). On November 4, he was in Waterloo. On December 13, he was in London (United Kingdom). On December 20, he visited Geneva again with Puigdemont. On December 29 and 30, the journey took them to Dublin (Ireland). And on February 27, 2019, they were both in Zurich (Switzerland).

In total, of the 224 days that he was as an advisor (and for which he received 52,712.26 euros, which the ruling requires him and Buch to return), 103 days he was abroad and 20 days, his whereabouts were unknown. The rest of the days, I was in Catalonia. It is assumed that most of them corresponded to holidays or days of rest that he took, since, according to his own statements, he had a back injury that prevented him from carrying out his job as an escort normally.. However, in videos and photos posted on the networks, the sergeant always seemed to act as a member of the escapee's security, although during the trial his lawyers tried at some point to justify his pose and attitudes as “professional deformation.”.

“From the study of the public comments that Mr. Escolà issued on Twitter, those through which he conveyed to his followers that the function carried out by himself was precisely that of providing support, protection and security to the accused rebel Mr. Puigdemont do not go unnoticed” , says the Prosecutor's Office. In Puigdemont's words, what he did was “a service to the country”.

To cover this enormous task of clandestine escort, Escolà had other police officers who spent their free days traveling to Waterloo and providing their particular “services to the country” as part of a discreet escort and security service.. Their mission was so discreet that they were prohibited from going outside Puigdemont's house to avoid being photographed and the illegal escort that the escapee enjoyed, made up of active agents, being discovered..