González is treated as a dangerous prisoner and spends 23 hours isolated in his cell, despite any evidence of the allegations against him being made public and no trial in sight. The IFJ, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and its Spanish affiliates, among other organisations, have repeatedly condemned the harsh conditions to which the Spanish journalist is subject in prison.
The IFJ hopes that the new government of Poland, which took office in December 2023 and whose plans to restore rule of law have been welcomed by the European Union, will review González’s case and the Polish judicial authorities will finally bring the charges against him, if any, so that he can defend himself.
“The International Federation of Journalists is aware that your government is making every possible effort it can to ensure that Poland is a State where the rule of law prevails and where citizens' rights are consistent with the expectations of a member State of the European Union.
We hope the time is close when Poland is no longer the only EU country in which a journalist is imprisoned”, read the letter sent by the IFJ president.
Download the letter: here.
In the early hours of 28 February 2022, González was arrested by officers of the Polish Security Service (ABW) while covering the humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Ukrainian border following the Russian full-scale invasion. Specialising in the post-Soviet world, the journalist was a regular contributor to the Spanish daily Público, television channel La Sexta and the Basque publication Gara.