Spain’s King meets with the general who wanted to intervene Catalonia in 2017

Last week, Spain’s King Felipe VI met with ex-chief of the Defense General Staff (JEMAD), Fernando Alejandre, the general who designed a plan to deploy the army in Catalonia in the aftermath of the 2017 independence referendum. This meeting took place during an event to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the completion of studies at the various Spanish military academies.

In one of his books, Alejandre stated that he had designed a plan to deploy the army in Catalonia in the aftermath of the independence referendum. According to him, this plan had been accepted by the then minister of defense, María Dolores de Cospedal (PP). The intention was to respond to the independence movement in the event that the Catalans’ vote led to the implementation of independence.

Alejandre affirms that the orders to implement the plan were active for eight seconds, the period of time that the Unilateral Declaration of Independence lasted on October 10th, 2017 before being suspended by President Carles Puigdemont in order to facilitate negotiations. Since the independence of Catalonia never did go beyond those eight seconds, the military plan was not deployed.

The Spanish government says that they knew nothing about the military plan, though there could be documents proving the opposite.

Four Years since the Spanish Military Police Force Civil Guard Stormed Several Departments of the Government of Catalonia

Last Monday, September 20th, marked four years since the Civil Guard, a Spanish military police force, stormed several departments of the government of Catalonia and the headquarters of the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) in an attempt to prevent the October 1st independence referendum. In response, over 60,000 Catalans peacefully demonstrated outside the Department of the Economy, where the main police operation was taking place, in defense of the government of Catalonia. This peaceful demonstration was used by the Spanish state as an excuse to jail civil society leaders Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, by accusing them of sedition.

Both leaders recalled the events during an interview for “El Matí de Catalunya Ràdio,” and stated that it was a “trap” set up by the State. “We had never imagined ending up in prison due to the events that took place outside the Department of Economy that day.”

Jordi Cuixart said, “That day was a turning point in the defense of fundamental rights. Catalan society was empowered in a non-violent way.”

Jordi Sànchez: “We did what was right in the face of an absolutely irresponsible decision by a judge to allow the Spanish police to enter government offices to try to prevent the independence referendum on October 1st.”

Both of them also stated that the fact that police officers left firearms in a car of the Civil Guard with the doors open in front of the protesters is clear evidence that what happened four years ago was a “trap.”

Jordi Cuixart: “In a democratic country there would have been an investigation into why there was a police car with weapons inside and the doors open.”

Cuixart and Sànchez also affirmed that the independence movement remains active as shown in the last elections and the mass demonstration for the National Day of Catalonia where over 400,000 people took to the streets demanding independence. “The demand for self-determination remains stronger than ever and the sovereignty movement is still standing,” they added.

Jordi Sànchez, who is now leader of Junts party, also confirmed that he had filed an appeal against his 9-year prison sentence for sedition to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the “continuous violation of fundamental rights” he has suffered.

Mass Demonstration Expected for the National Day of Catalonia on September 11

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) will organize a mass demonstration in Barcelona for the National Day of Catalonia on September 11. This year, the demonstration will start at Plaça d’Urquinaona at 5pm and will end in front of the Catalan Parliament. The banner will be “Let’s fight and win independence.” The intention is to vindicate the 2017 independence referendum and to put pressure on the Catalan pro-independence government to move forward towards independence. 52% of Catalans voted for independence in the last elections.

The organizers have made it clear that the health measures established by the PROCICAT committee will be fully complied with. No prior registration, unlike past years, will be required to participate in the demonstration. The organization also recommends people gather half an hour before the beginning of the demonstration, at 4.30 pm.

Organizers: “There is a need to mobilize again. Pardons for political prisoners are not the solution or the end of the conflict. We are once again showing the world that Catalonia is moving.”

President of the ANC, Elisenda Paluzie: “We need to activate the citizens to put pressure on the institutions and convey that only by fighting will we achieve independence.”

Catalonia Offers to Welcome as Many Afghan Refugees as Necessary

The Catalan pro-independence government has offered to receive as many Afghan refugees as needed. In an interview for ACN, Catalan president Pere Aragonès said that Catalonia is open to help with the “humanitarian emergency” caused in Afghanistan and assume its international obligations: “We have a humanitarian obligation regarding the situation in Afghanistan. We must prepare because there will be a wave of exiles and a need to offer asylum and refuge to hundreds of thousands of people. Catalonia will always be a land of welcome and freedom.”

The President also urged the Spanish government to speed up all procedures to recognize the right of refugees to seek asylum in Catalonia. “Spain must put a lot of resources” into defending the right for international protection,” he added.

The Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Victòria Alsina, also sent a letter to the Spanish authorities urging them to issue humanitarian visas for Afghans in danger.

“Welcoming those who fled their country because their lives are at risk is not an option, it is an international obligation,” a part of the letter reads.

Tania Verge, Minister for Equality and Feminism: “The EU and Spain must comply with the obligation to provide international protection to refugees from Afghanistan. We will continue to have humanitarian crises until we understand that to have peace, it must be built.”

Laura Borràs, Speaker of the Catalan Parliament: “I call on international organizations such as the European Union and the United Nations to act decisively in defense of the Afghan citizens who are victims of this war and, in an even more resolute way, not to forget Afghan women.”

Former Speaker of the Catalan Parliament and Three Former Members of the Bureau Summoned to Testify Before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia on September 15th Over an Alleged Crime of Disobedience for Allowing Two Debates

The former Speaker of the Parliament of Catalonia, Roger Torrent, and the former members of the Bureau, Josep Costa, Eusebi Campdepadrós, and Adriana Delgado, have been summoned to testify before the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), a court controlled by pro-Spain judges, on September 15. They are all under investigation for an alleged crime of disobedience for admitting to proceedings and allowing the text of two resolutions to be debated in a plenary session: one in favor of the right to self-determination, on November 12, 2019, and the other to reprove King Felipe, on November 26, 2019.

The resolutions were supported by the pro-independence parties ERC, Junts, and CUP. One of the texts stressed that parliament “reiterates and will reiterate as many times as MPs choose, the disapproval of the monarchy, the defense of self-determination, and the affirmation of the sovereignty of the people of Catalonia to decide their political future.”

In the writ, they are accused of contravening Spain’s Constitutional Court and authorizing votes that were deemed unlawful. The court says that the ruling of the Spanish Constitutional Court of December 2, 2015, declared unconstitutional and null the resolution 1/XI of the parliament of November 9, 2015, on the beginning of the political process in Catalonia as a result of the outcome of the September 27 elections.

The Constitutional Court agreed to suspend parliamentary resolutions and reminded the Bureau of its duty to prevent and paralyze any parliamentary initiative that ignores or evades this suspension. The court also warned them that they could incur responsibilities, including criminal if they failed to comply. The prosecution considers that the four defendants breached this order when they allowed the two debates. If found guilty of disobedience, they could all face a ban from public office.

In a message posted on social media, Torrent says that “the repressive machinery is still in place to limit and pursue freedom of expression,” and argues that “Parliament is the temple of speech and debate” and that they want to censor it, this “goes against democracy.”

Spain Accused of Spying on Catalans

The “SOURGUM” malicious software package has been used to spy on Catalan citizens, according to Microsoft. The firm says that its intelligence center MSTIC has found out that “the Israeli private-sector actor has been hired by governments in order to spy on over 100 people around the world, including politicians, human rights activists, journalists, academics, embassy workers, and political dissidents.”

Exiled Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and the president of the Catalan cultural organization Òmnium Jordi Cuixart are among the victims. “The Spanish state violates the right to privacy: it is obvious: they know everything about us,” says Cuixart.

The Catalan government has accused the Spanish government of spying on Catalans

President Aragonès: “Afterwards they get angry when they are put at the same level as Turkey in terms of human rights.”

Vice-President Jordi Puigneró: “Controlling Catalans, a curious ‘reconciliation’ agenda led by the Spanish executive.”

This revelation comes a year after The Guardian and El País revealed that the phones of Catalan parliament speaker Roger Torrent and other pro-independence activists were targeted using the Pegasus spyware that experts say is only sold to governments to track criminals and terrorists.

Spain’s Supreme Court Rejects Precautionary Annulment of Pardons for Catalan leaders

On Tuesday, the Spanish Supreme Court rejected the request from the far-right party Vox and the neoliberal party Ciudadanos (C’s) to annul the pardons for nine Catalan leaders as a precautionary measure while their appeals are assessed. Thus, the contentious administrative chamber ruled out for now ordering the reimprisonment of the nine pro-independence leaders.

The court believes that annulling the pardons as a precautionary measure could lead to “harmful and irreversible situations that could potentially violate the rights of the Catalan leaders,” arguing that the court could end up endorsing the pardons. Therefore, the court concluded that, “in assessing the conflict of interests, the request to suspend the pardons as a precaution pending a final decision is not acceptable.”

The court, however, has not ruled yet on the legitimacy of Ciudadanos (C’s) and Vox’s appeals against the pardons because this issue is not part of the resolution of precautionary measures, as stated by the Spanish state attorney. There are many doubts among jurists as to whether the parties are entitled to file appeals on pardons. For this reason, the appeal of C’s was presented by three MPs who were in the Parliament of Catalonia during the pro-independence push in 2017.

Spain’s Court of Auditors Claims Millions of Euros from 40 Former Catalan Officials

On Tuesday, the conservative Spanish Court of Auditors claimed 5.4 million euros as financial guarantees from some 40 former Catalan government officials for allegedly promoting independence abroad from 2011 to 2017. These financial guarantees are additional to others previously requested by the same court.

In total, the auditing body claims from former president Artur Mas and former finance minister Andreu Mas-Colell 2.8 million euros, as well as 1.9 million euros from former president Carles Puigdemont and former vice president Oriol Junqueras. All this corresponds to allegedly irregular expenses in the framework of the promotion of the process of independence around the world.

The official most affected by this case is the former Secretary General of Diplocat, a semipublic consortium aimed at fostering Catalonia’s interests abroad, Albert Royo, who faces a claim of 3.6 million euros.

Former foreign affairs minister Raül Romeva faces 2.1 million euros and former government’s spokesperson Francesc Homs 2.9 million euros, while auditors Mireia Vidal and Rosa Vidal 3.1 million and 1.8 million, respectively.

As for the rest, including former secretaries general and several government delegates abroad, they face lower quantities, though still huge.

The assets of all the former officials affected by this case will be seized if they aren’t able to pay the financial guarantees within the next two weeks.

The victims’ lawyers described it as an “arbitrary procedure.” Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, denounced the procedure as a “mockery” and stated that he had never felt such “helplessness” before.

NOTE: The Spanish Court of Auditors is not formed by judges as other courts, but mostly by politicians, including former ministers, who were appointed by the conservative political party PP during prior administrations.

Dead former official requested to pay 22,725 euros

Maryse Olivé, former official of the government of Catalonia in France, who died in 2017, has been requested to pay 22,725 euros. The Court of Auditors now wants her daughter, Chantal Olivé, to pay for it, though she has not been accused of any crime or irregularity.

Exiled President and MEP Carles Puigdemont will take this case to Belgian justice

“We will use all mechanisms to demand responsibility for this action. A complaint or a lawsuit. We will spare no effort, because it is clearly an abuse,” said Puigdemont’s lawyer Boye.

“Puigdemont’s residence is currently fixed in Waterloo, Belgium, meaning he will suffer the consequences of this court ruling there. Thus, he will have to bring the case to Belgian justice to find a solution to this abusive action by the Court of Auditors,” added the lawyer.

33 Nobel Prize winners against Court of Auditors’ case

33 Nobel Prize winners including Joseph Stiglitz, Gorge Akerlof, Robert Aumann, Angus Deaton, Esther Duflo, and Eugene Fama have shown their support for former finance minister Andreu Mas-Colell and have described the action of the Court of Auditors against him as unfair.

The Spanish Government Grants Pardons for 9 Jailed Catalan Leaders the Day after the Council of Europe Demanded the Liberation of Catalan Political Prisoners, the Return of Exiles, and the End of Repression

On Tuesday, the Spanish government granted partial and reversible pardons for the nine jailed Catalan leaders Jordi Cuixart, Carme Forcadell, Dolors Bassa, Jordi Sànchez, Joaquim Forn, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, and Raül Romeva in response to international pressure. It came a day after the Council of Europe demanded the liberation of Catalan political prisoners, the withdrawal of extradition orders against exiles, and the end of repression.

The pardons are partial, meaning that the nine leaders are still barred from holding public office for nearly a decade, and reversible in the sense that they will be suspended if the leaders commit a “serious crime” in the coming years or if any of the prisoners exercise the fundamental rights that landed them in prison in the first place. In the cases of Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, this was holding a peaceful demonstration.

Council of Europe

On Monday, the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe approved a report by its Committee on Legal Affairs on the situation of political leaders behind bars in Spain and Turkey by 70 votes in favor, 28 against, and 12 abstentions. They demanded the release of the Catalan political prisoners, the withdrawal of the extradition orders against exiles, among others, and the end of repression. They also overturned one by one and by a large majority the amendments of Spain’s PSOE and PP representatives who wanted to reduce the report’s critical content. Spanish efforts to water down the report failed.

The document approved by the Council of Europe is also important because it can be used as a precedent in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Political prisoners have already begun bringing appeals against their prison sentences for weeks. They expect the Strasbourg verdict to result in the annulation of their sentences, which could be a major blow to Spanish justice.

Pardons not a solution to the conflict

The pardons granted for nine jailed Catalan leaders on Tuesday are not a realistic solution to the ongoing conflict. There are still exiles and over 3,300 Catalans currently enduring judicial proceedings, including officials, and thousands of activists and normal people across the country. Thus, the conflict is expected to continue until their situation is resolved and the demands of an astonishing majority of 80% of Catalans, demanding amnesty and self-determination, are heard.

Political Prisoner Jordi Cuixart Case Affects “Rights of the Whole of European Society”

On Tuesday, the Catalan cultural organization Òmnium Cultural held an event to explain the recent decision of its jailed President, Jordi Cuixart, to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). He is currently serving nine years in prison after being found guilty of sedition for participating in a peaceful demonstration a few days before the 2017 independence referendum.

“The Spanish state has misused its power to harm a political adversary. There has been a use of the powers of the State to judicially prosecute political dissent. The right to demonstrate should not be limited by political opression. The objective was not to apply the law, but to find a pretext to keep Cuixart away from the protests and weaken Òmnium Cultural,” said the lawyer Olivier Peter.

Olivier predicts a “defeat for the State, invoking international pressure.” He also referred to the votes of Juan Antonio Xiol and María Luisa Balaguer, judges on Spain’s Constitutional Court, who stated that the prison sentence by the Supreme Court violated Cuixart’s right to assembly and personal and ideological freedom. He also believes that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will resolve his client’s case “rapidly.”

“Cuixart’s case will have effects on the fundamental rights of the whole of European society. He was convicted of sedition for exercising the right to demonstrate and for exercising freedom of expression after a trial full of irregularities, and therefore, we are facing an unprecedented case. He was imprisoned and convicted for exercising fundamental rights,” said the lawyer.

“There will be either a condemnation of Spain or a condemnation of democracy,” said the Vice-president of Òmnium, Marcel Mauri. “The case of Cuixart is the case of democracy, and it is essential to continue working for self-determination,” he added.

The event was attended by Ed Donovan, advisor to the United Nations Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders; Masha Chichchenkova, Coordinator of Protection to Europe of Front Line Defenders; Giada Negri from the European Civic Forum; the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Jody Williams, from the United States; the president of PEN International, Jennifer Clement, from Mexico, and Gerald Staberock, Secretary General of the World Organization Against Torture, from Geneva.