SPEAKER of the Catalan Parliament Roger Torrent has been charged with the crime of disobedience for allowing MPs to vote for self-determination and against the Spanish monarchy two years ago.
The charges alleged that he, and three members of the chamber’s bureau, disobeyed Spain’s Constitutional Court (TC) by passing the motions in November 2019, which were supported by pro-independence parties who held a majority in the parliament.
One of the motions said: “Parliament reiterates and will reiterate as many times as MPs choose the disapproval of the monarchy, the defence of self-determination and the affirmation of the sovereignty of the people of Catalonia to decide their political future.”
The TC said they violated previous rulings against Catalan self-determination and revoked them.
Torrent, a member of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), is known as something of an outspoken pro-independence figure.
He was given the news while in his home village, and tweeted in response: “At @parlamentcat we have guaranteed that everything can be talked about, and it must continue to be so.
“No matter how much they try to censor debates, they will not be able to hide the corrupt practices of the monarchy and self-determination is a right we will not give up.”
The charges against the speaker follow a familiar pattern against pro-independence officials in the Catalan legislature.
Carme Forcadell, Torrent’s predecessor, is serving a prison sentence of 11 years after being convicted of sedition for allowing MPs to declare independence from Spain following the October 2017 referendum.
Last year, the Catalan president, Quim Torra, was sacked after the Supreme Court upheld a previous sentence for disobedience over his refusal to remove from public buildings yellow ribbons, which were seen as a sign of support for independence and other indy leaders who are also imprisoned.
However, this fate is not likely to befall Torrent, although a conviction for disobedience could see him banned from public office for a number of years.
Torrent said the charges were politically motivated, and added: “What the TC would like is for the bureau to become a censoring body.
“We will not accept this, because then Parliament and democracy would be limited.”
Spain’s public prosecutor, meanwhile, has mounted a Supreme Court challenge against prison privileges which were granted to Catalonia’s jailed pro-indy leaders.
The nine grassroots activists and politicians are serving prison terms of between nine and 13 years for sedition for their part in the 2017 referendum.
They have already served around three years each and are classed as “third degree”, or low-risk inmates.
As such they are allowed to leave prison for work during the day and return to their cells to sleep. They are also entitled to spend weekends at home.
The prosecutor’s case against Dolors Bassa and Forcadell was lodged on Monday, and yesterday saw the court move to revoke the privileges of ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, activists Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, and former ministers Raul Romeva, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull and Quim Forn.
A lower court had previously rejected the measure – for the second time – but the prosecutor took the case to Spain’s highest court, and demanded their privileges be suspended while judges consider the appeal.
Their status was revoked two months ago before being reinstated, but the prosecutor returned to court citing precedents from last July, when the court kept them in jail until the appeal was resolved.
Now the prosecutor’s office wants the same measure applied, as a “preventive measure”, and has argued again that they have been convicted of “serious crimes and with sentences of more than five years”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel