An Update on Pedro Varela

I have reported about Catalonian police—Mossos d'Esquadra—in Barcelona had closed down Pedro Varela’s bookstore “Europa”, just about twenty days ago. Now we know that the police confiscated more than 15,000 books at his bookstore which the Catalonian police say promote hate and genocide. Also the Mossos d'Esquadra, raided his apartment and found and confiscated €40,000 which is said to be money from book sales as well as part of an inheritance. Among other things confiscated by Barcelona police was Valera’s computer equipment.

Varela as many might know had been charged with similar offenses since 1996 when he was sentenced to seven months in prison and police confiscated more than 20,000 books from him. Then in 2006 he was also sentenced to a year and three months and 5,000 books were confiscated.

After a week of this last police raiding of Varela’s bookstore and apartment, he, who was traveling with his youngest daughter at the time his bookstore was closed down and his apartment raided, turned himself in to the police, who had a warrant for his arrest.

Pedro Varela issued a statement via social media—his Facebook page for Europa bookstore—in which he said before turning himself in to the Barcelona authorities that :

"The situation is rather more complicated than in the past, since my house has been destroyed (where I rented rooms to improve  my income), all family financial means have been removed from my  home, the bookstore has been closed down , Ediciones Ojeda has been liquidated, the three Apple professional computers that I recently acquired have been confiscated, and the magnificent team of people who  had in the past help at the bookstore will not be able to work, since they are not allowed to enter my bookstore, the phone has been disconnected, and websites BLOCKED, and two colleagues have been incarcerated and are being tried. Tomorrow at 10 am I will turn myself in."

Varela was freed after paying a hefty fine of €30,000. We will update Varela’s status as things develop.