Yolanda Díaz, second vice-president of the incumbent government, will present on Tuesday at the Ateneu in Barcelona her amnesty proposal, entrusted to twenty lawyers to assert the constitutionality of the measure. The document stipulates that the measure could benefit all politicians who have been at the forefront of the Catalan independence process since 2013, when preparations for the 2014 sovereignty consultation began. The text also provides for an amnesty for the police officers accused of the indictment of October 1, 2017. The agents could benefit from the application of the law, with the exception of those accused of a crime of moral integrity, since it is considered that that they acted cruelly.
The opinion proposing articles does not detail how many people could benefit from the law. She proposes to apply the rule from January 23, 2013, when Parliament has approved the declaration of sovereignty. Therefore, former President Artur Mas and the three former city councilors convicted at the November 9, 2014 sovereignty consultation would be included. The text, according to El Periódico de Catalunya, does not mention Laura Borràs, former president of Parliament, who was convicted of corruption crimes. For cutting public contracts, which Junts sees as “retaliation”.
In support of the amnesty, the text applies the criteria of international law that exclude crimes against humanity such as torture or crimes against moral integrity. That was the script that Jaume Asens, former deputy and negotiator appointed by Sumar, defended from the start. The plan would, for example, exclude the police officer accused of firing a rubber bullet that resulted in the loss of an eye at Roger Espanyol, a young man who took part in defending the elections at 1-O.
Díaz, who was also in Barcelona, avoided commenting on whether his proposal actually covers the police officers involved in the charges aimed at preventing the 2017 referendum, but stressed that “there is no room for amnesties, human rights or crimes against humanity.” The incumbent Labor Minister also did not confirm in a media interview after a meeting with businessmen whether the amnesty since 2013 will exonerate any kind of crimes related to independence. “Let the lawyers have theirs Do work rigorously,” she added.
The PSOE quickly distanced itself from the content of its partners’ proposal. The acting Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, responded this Friday from Barcelona that the Socialists are not reflected in a document that, in his opinion, is “respectable”. Junts per Catalunya MEP Toni Comín – Sumar’s interlocutor at the investiture talks – handed this bill to the leadership of the Independence Party. Junts released a statement thanking Sumar for his “commitment and interest in the desire to reach an agreement” and committed to carrying out a detailed analysis and providing a response “as quickly as possible.”
Meeting between PSOE and ERC
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Bolaños also took advantage of his visit to meet with Josep Maria Jové, leader of the Republican group in Parliament and one of the members of the dialogue table between leaders. The meeting, which was not on the agenda of either political representative, was announced by El Nacional. Sources from both parties confirm this, although neither Socialists nor Republicans officially rule out commenting on the matter.
The minister and Jové, one of the possible beneficiaries of the amnesty since he is under investigation by the 1-O organization, share the role of leading complicated negotiations in their respective parties. The meeting coincides with Sumar’s announcement, but comes a week after the ERC strained negotiations by linking the positive vote to Sánchez’s agreement to commit to advancing the conditions for holding a referendum and together with Junts to get Parliament to pass a resolution calling for this condition.
According to Sumar sources, criminal law professor Nicolás García Rivas, one of the authors of the document, will be in charge of presenting the legal report. Also present will be the former deputy of Catalonia in the Comú Podem Jaume Asens, a key player in the amnesty negotiations, and Díaz herself, who will close the meeting. The event, which will take place at the Ateneo Barcelonés for seven o’clock in the afternoon, will be attended by jurists such as the professor of constitutional law at the University of Seville and the former lawyer of the Constitutional Court Joaquín Urías, professor of constitutional law at the University of Seville Javier Pérez Royo or the professor in Criminal Law at the Autonomous University of Barcelona Mercedes García Arán, as described in Sumar.
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