CATALONIA
Europa in der Pflicht
Juristen kritisieren die Vorgehensweise Spaniens gegen die katalanische Unabhängigkeitsbewegung als rechtswidrig
Rally for the release of political prisoners in Barcelona on 16 February. Photo: REUTERS / Albert Gea
Europe in duty
Lawyers criticize Spain's approach to the Catalan independence movement as unlawful
Legal
experts such as the French former President of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECJ), Jean Paul Costa, and former ECJ Judge Francoise
Tulkens from Belgium report in a report on the Spanish government's
actions against the Catalan independence movement regarding their
proportionality and their compatibility with international law Right
checked.
Wolfgang Kaleck, founder of the European Center for Constitutional and
Human Rights (ECCHR) and also a member of the expert group, explained to
young people why these questions are important: "The discussion always revolves around the legality or non-legitimacy of a spin-off.
However, a large part of the measures investigated by us by the Spanish
state took place in the run-up to the so-called Declaration of
Independence. There would have to be more legal differentiation. "
On behalf of the Social Democratic-oriented Republican Left of
Catalonia (ERC), the experts analyzed both the measures of the Spanish
Constitutional Court against the work of the members of the Catalan
regional parliament and their prosecution between 2013 and October 2017
from a purely legal perspective. They found serious violations of legality and separation of powers.
The decisions of the Constitutional Court in Madrid, which may be
debated and voted on in the parliament in Barcelona, as well as the
prosecution of the deputies for "disobedience" are "a grave interference
in fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and assembly," the
lawyers said.
"If I speak out as a politician, journalist or activist for the
independence of Catalonia, and in news articles, demonstrations,
meetings or even as a political resolution, this can not be punishable,"
said Kaleck.
The experts also considered disproportionate the arrest of members of
the government and the imposition of fines of up to € 12,000 daily for
the preparation of the referendum on 1 October 2017, as well as the
prosecution of Catalan politicians for organizing the non-binding
referendum on 9 November 2014. Because of the latter, for example, the
former Prime Minister Artur Mas was banned from taking public office for
two years. In addition, he was sentenced to pay a fine of several million euros.
This is not lawful, according to the lawyers, because the organization
of a referendum or referendum is not a criminal offense under Spanish
law.
Of particular concern was the approach of the Constitutional Court to
take its own decisions as a criminal basis for the legal prosecution of
politicians, although the alleged offenses in Spanish criminal law did
not exist. The Constitutional Court "has a political and legislative role to play in holding Spain together," the report said. That was a clear violation of the separation of powers.
Up to 900 Catalan citizens and politicians are currently being
prosecuted by Spain for their non-violent support for their country's
independence.
The former member of the left-standing "People's Assembly" (CUP), Anna
Gabriel, fled to Switzerland because she does not expect a fair trial in
Spain. British lawyer Ben Emmerson brought the months-long imprisonment of Catalan politicians and activists to the UN.
However, Kaleck considers the international courts to be too tedious.
Given the need to speak of hundreds of violations by the Spanish state,
there is a need for action by EU states and institutions: "The Spanish
government can not pretend to act on behalf of European unity, and then
what constitutes Europe, namely Minimum legal standards, ignore. I see it as a duty of the European institutions to stand up for compliance with European fundamental rights. "
