August Gil i Matamala (born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

on September 19, 1934) is a Catalan lawyer specializing in human rights.

Biography

Married to Isabel Giner i San Julián and father of actor Ariadna Gil i Giner. He has had a long and prestigious career in the field of defence of human rights. He set up the first university branch of the

PSUC The Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia ( ca, Partit Socialista Unificat de Catalunya, PSUC) was a communist political party active in Catalonia between 1936 and 1997. It was the Catalan branch of the Communist Party of Spain and the only party n ...

(Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia) in 1956 while studying for a law degree at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

. Between 1960 and 1975 he defended trade unionists from Workers' Commissions, members of Bandera Roja and other political activists before the Francoist

Tribunal de Orden Público The ''Court of Public Order'' (Spanish: atribunal de Orden Público) was a court created in Francoist Spain to deal with most political crimes. It was instated as the supreme body in the newly created Public Order Jurisdiction, which also comprise ...

(Court of Public Order) and he became a well-known labour lawyer. After the end of the Franco regime, he represented Catalan and Basque pro-independence activists. In particular, he defended those from Terra Lliure rounded up in Operation Garzón. He chaired the Association of

European Democratic Lawyers European Democratic Lawyers (EDL) (''also Association of'', A.E.D) is an association of labor unions and lawyers of six European countries.Wolfgang Kaleck/ref> It was founded in October 1987 as a confederation of lawyers' unions and gained its sta ...

(AED), set up in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

in 1990 and dedicated to defending citizens' rights, preserving the independence of lawyers and fighting for the establishment of a democratic and progressive system of European law. On October 13, 2012, he was chosen to be the eighty-fifth on the list of the

CUP A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

-Alternativa d'Esquerres for Barcelona in the elections to the

Parliament of Catalonia The Parliament of Catalonia ( ca, Parlament de Catalunya, ; es, Parlamento de Cataluña; oc, Parlament de Catalonha) is the unicameral legislature of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. The Parliament is currently made up of 135 mem ...

in 2012, with the aim of closing the constituency list, along with the football player

Oleguer Presas Oleguer Presas Renom (born 2 February 1980), known simply as Oleguer, is a Spanish former footballer. Primarily a central defender, he could also operate as a defensive right-back. During his career he was mostly associated with Barcelona, wit ...

and the writer Julià de Jòdar. In 2007 he was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi and in 2013 he received the

Lluís Companys Lluís Companys i Jover (; 21 June 1882 – 15 October 1940) was a Catalan politician who served as president of Catalonia from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War. Companys was a lawyer close to labour movement and one of the most prominent l ...

Memorial Award from the

Josep Irla Josep is a Catalan masculine given name equivalent to Joseph (Spanish ''José''). People named Josep include: * Josep Bargalló (born 1958), Catalan philologist and former politician * Josep Bartolí (1910-1995), Catalan painter, cartoonist and w ...

Foundation. In 2019 he was also given the Medalla d’or al Mèrit Cívic (Gold Award for Civil Merit) from the city council of Barcelona. In the 2015 municipal elections, he was candidate for the CUP-Capgirem Barcelona, once again with the aim of closing the list for Barcelona. August Gil Matamala is currently part of Barcelona City Council’s group of experts on the victims of the Franco regime in the city between 1960 and 1978. In 2017, David Fernàndez and

Anna Gabriel Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 122 ...

published August Gil Matamala’s biography: ''Al principi de tot hi ha la guerra''(At the Beginning of Everything is the War) with the publishing house Sembra Llibres.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gil Matamala, August Living people 1934 births Spanish civil rights activists 20th-century Spanish lawyers Lawyers from Barcelona