‘Sorry’ ISIS puke gets max, 15 yrs.
THE PRIME MINISTER of Spain capped a tumultuous Friday by declaring the vote for independence by politicians in Catalonia was a crime — and announcing their mass firing.
In a pair of dueling votes, Catalan political leaders in Barcelona voted for secession from their nation as the Spanish central government in Madrid immediately moved to shut down their departure.
The Spanish Senate moved to dismiss Catalonia’s politicians, disband its parliament and arrange for a Dec. 21 election to replace the ousted leaders.
The announcement from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was greeted with angry whistling and jeers by crowds in Barcelona’s Sant Jaume Square.
The crowd had earlier danced and celebrated as the vote for independence aired live on local television before the backlash came from Madrid.
“We never wanted to come to this point,” said Rajoy. “It is not about suspending or meddling in the self-government, but to return it to normality and legality as soon as possible.”
Spain's top prosecutor intends to seek charges of rebellion against those behind the secession vote. Officials in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the U.S. announced their support of a unified Spain.
“Catalonia is an integral part of Spain, and the United States supports the Spanish government’s constitutional rights to keep Spain strong and united,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
With tensions running high, calls came quickly for a diplomatic resolution to the situation.
“I hope the Spanish government favors force of argument, not argument of force,” tweeted European Council President Donald Tusk.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont urged citizens of the region to remain peaceful when the expected Spanish retaliation comes against the independence movement.
“In the days ahead, we must keep to our values of pacifism and dignity,” the president announced. “It is in our, it is in your hands to build the republic.”
The crowd had earlier cheered Puigdemont’s announcement of the vote for independence, joyfully singing the Catalan anthem “The Reapers.”
“Now we are Catalan at last!” said reveler Rita Carboneras, 24. “We can be ourselves. We are just happy. Look at everyone around. Everything is so exciting.”
The vote in favor of secession was tight, with 70 lawmakers out of the 135 elected officials supporting the move. A BROOKLYN man’s tearful regret for his ties to ISIS failed to sway a judge, who sentenced him Friday to 15 years in prison for plotting to help the terrorist group.
Abdurasul Juraboev, 27, said he now rejects extremism and the ISIS snake oil peddlers he once listened to. He wiped away tears as he admitted that what he was following “wasn’t real Islam.”
“I didn’t know my religion correctly,” the Uzbek national said, adding that ISIS fighters and propagandists were “doing many things wrong.”
Judge William Kuntz, unmoved, slammed him with the maximum sentence.
In 2014, Juraboev made online threats to kill then-President Barack Obama and said he wanted to fight in Syria, according to Brooklyn federal prosecutors. And if Juraboev couldn’t wreak havoc overseas, he talked of doing it in New York, they said.
Juraboev ended up with an airplane ticket to Turkey, where he planned to continue to Syria. But authorities arrested him and others in his ring before any trip could occur.
Juraboev’s attorneys pressed for a term around the five-year mark. The “lonely, confused” gyro shop worker “gravitated towards his religion but instead of religion, it was propaganda,” defense lawyer Michael Weil said. Juraboev “never intended to do anything in this country,” Weil insisted.
Months after his arrest, Juraboev pleaded guilty to plotting to give material support to ISIS.