PSOE Allies with Vox, PP and C’s to Refuse an Amnesty Debate and Against Repealing the Crime of Sedition and the Gag Law

On Tuesday, Spain’s Congress Bureau, with a majority of PSOE, PP and Vox, dismissed bringing to debate an amnesty bill law filed by Catalan pro-independence parties last week, which seeks the removal of any kind of criminal and administrative responsibility for all acts of political intent related to the democratic struggle for self-determination of Catalonia since January 1, 2013, which would grant a pardon to over 3,000 victims of reprisals. The motion will not even be debated in the lower house.

The lawyers of Congress, politicized and with a conservative majority, already asked that the Bill not be admitted for processing on Monday, arguing that the proposal was partially unconstitutional because it did not propose an amnesty but a general pardon.

The dismissal of the bill did not come as a surprise to the pro-independence camp. The Spanish government led by PSOE has refused to keep dialogue with Catalonia on multiple occasions during the current legislature.

“PSOE don’t miss an opportunity to align themselves with PP and Vox by blocking this amnesty law,” Catalan government spokesperson Mertixell Borràs lamented on Tuesday.

The president of Unidas Podemos parliamentary group, Jaume Asens, told Catalunya Ràdio that it was “serious” that the Bureau wanted to “stand as a kind of censor which carries out prior control and usurps the functions of the Constitutional Court.”

The Spanish government says it is considering other alternatives, which have been rejected or deliberately postponed, such as granting presidential pardons to the nine politicians and high-profile activists political prisoners or a reform of the crime of sedition for which they were convicted. However, these proposals would only benefit the top leaders of the pro-independence movement, leaving over 3,000 lower-profile cases unresolved.

The civil society organization Òmnium Cultural has prepared a signature drive for April 10 in an attempt to send the bill back to the lower house.

Repeal of crime of sedition and gag law

On Tuesday, the Spanish Congress also rejected a bill proposed by the Catalan pro-independence party CUP to repeal the crime of sedition and the gag law. PSOE who had “defended” a reform of the crime of sedition and promised to repeal the gag law during the last presidential campaign, allied with conservatives and far-right PP, Vox and C’s to overturn CUP’s proposal and show how false their promises to its electorate had been.

Pro-independence parties reproached PSOE for the old promise to repeal the gag law and the fact that two and a half years after coming to power it has not been repealed yet, but “applied more than the former right-wing government of PP.”

Pro-independence activists also described it as “shameful” that the PSOE has not pursued the reform of the crime of sedition promised by the Minister of Justice, Juan Carlos Campo.

Unidas Podemos showed support for the initiative, along with ERC, Junts and the BNG. The proposal of the anti-capitalists overlaps with the proposal of the PNV that was processed last fall calling only for a reform of the gag law, which was approved by PP in 2015.

Catalan Pro-Independence Parties Register an Amnesty Bill in the Spanish Congress

On Tuesday, the Catalan pro-independence parties ERC, Junts, CUP and PDECat registered a draft bill for an amnesty law in the Spanish Congress. This seeks the extinction of any kind of criminal and administrative responsibility for all acts of political intent related to the democratic struggle for self-determination of Catalonia since January 1, 2013, which would grant a pardon to over 3,000 victims of reprisals.

The proposal, which has to be debated in Congress, has no chance of passing. PP and Vox have already announced their refusal and the senior cabinet minister and PSOE organizational secretary José Luis Ábalos also confirmed that his party will oppose the amnesty law, thus closing the doors to a possible approval.

The position of Unidas Podemos, which is in a coalition government with PSOE, is still unknown. The group’s president in Congress, Jaume Asens, said that they will not vote against it. However, he has not clarified yet whether they will abstain or vote in favor, and has stated that it will depend on the wording of the text.

The Spanish government was considering other alternatives, which have been rejected or deliberated postponed, such as granting presidential pardons to the nine politicians and high-profile activists political prisoners or a reform of the crime of sedition for which they were convicted. However, these proposals would only benefit the top leaders of the pro-independence movement, leaving over 3,000 lower-profile cases unresolved.

The Vice-President of the Catalan civil society organization Òmnium Cultural, Marcel Mauri, said that the approval of the amnesty law by the Congress will “depend on the political will to resolve the Catalan conflict. It would be an “important step” that should make it possible to “turn the page,” he added.

Montse Bassa (ERC) warned that rejecting this amnesty law is “maintaining injustice and revenge” and “wanting to negotiate [while holding] hostages”.

Míriam Nogueras (Junts) stated that the Spanish government has not yet put any alternative on the table.

Mireia Vehí (CUP) recalled that, with the presentation of this bill, PSOE has the ball in its court.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) did not attend the event because approval of the amnesty law in Congress is not possible.

Spanish Government Dialogue and Reconciliation? Immunity of Catalan MEPs Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí Stripped and Seven of the Nine Political Prisoners Sent Back to Prison

On Tuesday, the European Parliament approved the removal of the immunity of Catalan MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí after a plenary session vote. The Spanish political parties PSOE, PP and Vox had requested this. The secret ballot was held on Monday, but the results were released on Tuesday morning.

The vote was not unanimous and some 80 MEPs from the Socialists, PP and Liberal groups broke the voting discipline imposed by PSOE and PP. That means that 42% of the MEPs didn’t vote in favour of the immunity waiver, which is an unprecedentedly high figure in such cases.

– In the case of Puigdemont, 400 MEPs voted in favour of removing his immunity, 248 against and 45 representatives abstained.

– In the case of Toni Comí, 404 MEPs voted in favor of removing his immunity, 247 against and 42 representatives abstained.

– In the case of Clara Ponsatí, 404 MEPs voted in favor of removing her immunity, 247 against and 42 representatives abstained.

Spain seeks the extradition of the Catalan leaders for their role in the 2017 independence referendum – this is the third time the Supreme Court has attempted to have them handed over. Belgium, Germany, and Scotland rejected extradition requests before and Spain withdrew the EU arrest warrant on another occasion before it was denied.

Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí will keep their status as MEPs. They would lose their status only after extradition and conviction in a Spanish court. The extradition would have to be approved by a local court.

Belgian justice already denied the extradition request for exiled Catalan leader Lluís Puig, who didn’t have immunity, on the grounds that the Spanish Supreme Court was not competent to request his extradition.

Removal of the Open Prison Privileges for the Seven Male Political Prisoners

On Tuesday, a few hours after the European Parliament decided to remove the immunity of the exiled Catalan leaders and MEPs, a penitentiary court decided to remove the day-leave permits of the seven male pro-independence political prisoners, who will now have to stay in prison full-time.

They had been enjoying the “low security” prison category status since late January, allowing them to leave jail during the day, sleep in their cells at night, and go home on weekends, after over three years behind bars.

The other two female political prisoners persecuted for their role in the 2017 referendum, Carme Forcadell and Dolors Bassa, are still pending a final decision of another Catalan penitentiary court.

Punishment

The pro-independence movement has interpreted these moves as a punishment for getting historic results in the last Catalan elections, surpassing 50% of the popular vote for the first time, with 52%.

Spain’s Public Prosecutor Punishes the Pro-Independence Movement for Its Historic Results in the Last Elections

Earlier this week, the Spanish public prosecutor took to the Supreme Court a lower court’s decision to provisionally keep an open prison regime for the nine jailed Catalan leaders Carme Forcadell, Dolors Bassa, Jordi Cuixart, Oriol Junqueras, Josep Rull, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull, Jordi Sànchez and Joaquim Forn.

The nine political prisoners obtained the “low” prison category status in late January, allowing them to leave jail during the day, sleep in their cells at night, and go home on weekends, after over three years behind bars.

It’s the second time the Catalan leaders have seen their prison privileges taken before the Supreme Court. Their low category status was already revoked two months ago.

In this new appeal, the prosecutor is confident that the Supreme Court will overturn the penitentiary court judge’s decision and order the re-imprisonment of the political prisoners. The prosecutor considers the arguments presented by the judge of the penitentiary court in favor of the maintenance of their privileges to be “erroneous” and claims that they should not apply while serving a sentence for sedition. The Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority, has always accepted the prosecutor’s demands. There are no signs it will be any different this time either.

Punishment

The pro-independence movement has interpreted this move as a punishment for getting historic results in the last Catalan elections, surpassing 50% of the popular vote for the first time, with 52%.

It is also seen as interference in the ongoing negotiations between the pro-independence parties, ERC, Junts and CUP, for the formation of a new government in which CUP, an anti-capitalist party, could assume institutional responsibilities for the first time, something the Spanish establishment, the deep state and government are trying to prevent by any means.

Whether the Spanish government and the deep state will be able to prevent a pro-independence government in Catalonia is still to be seen, but in the meantime, with each act of interference, the pro-independence movement appears to be stronger.