At all summits of heads of state and government, demonstrations and street activities against it take place in parallel. It will also take place at the event that will bring together 52 senior officials from 47 countries in Granada on October 5 and 6 to mark Spain’s EU Council Presidency. On September 7th, a group of people requested the government delegation to demonstrate in the city center on September 5th from seven to nine o’clock at night. The government sub-delegation banned the demonstration due to the possible coincidence between the protest route and that of the official cars. The demonstrators’ route was clearly defined, but no one yet knows which roads the authorities will use. Faced with the ban, the applicants appealed to the Supreme Court of Andalusia (TSJA), which this Thursday announced a ruling forcing the sub-delegation and ultimately the government to propose a travel plan so that the demonstrators can exercise their right.
The judges are very direct. The right to demonstrate is anchored in the constitution and its restriction “requires a special motivation”. Before banning a demonstration, the relevant administration must propose changes to the date, location or duration so that the meeting can be held. According to the judgment, the rejection of the sub-delegation was based on security problems and a possible encounter with the official caravans, as well as on unknown police reports, the judgment says.
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The government’s refusal also makes the protesters suspect that they are the ones who propose a different path and resubmit their application. But currently the official route is secret and the petitioners, who expect a turnout of 5,000 people, have to blindly propose new alternative routes without knowing whether they coincide with the official route.
The TSJA, which has launched a “special procedure to protect fundamental rights,” insists that the ban “represents a blatant lack of proportionality by banning the demonstration instead of proposing an alternative route, which seriously hinders the future exercise of the right “. ” The judges are clear that the administrative argument for denying the right is “tight” and that before the final ban they must “propose the necessary changes” so that there are no accidents or problems.
The court is aware that the official route does not want to be published for security reasons – which would allow applicants to be on the safe side when proposing a second route – and is therefore forcing the authority to propose an alternative route , the three days it has to submit and that the court cannot appeal.
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The government sub-delegation has told this newspaper that it has 72 hours’ notice and that “it is already working on designing an alternative and safe itinerary that allows the right to assemble with security.” Before the end of the On September 24, the government’s proposal and the distance it proposes between the official route and that of the demonstrators will be announced.
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