ERC argues that since the previous Amnesty law says that those “acts classified as terrorist crimes punishable” in the “Penal Code that have consisted of the commission of any of the conduct included in the Directive (EU) 2017 are excluded. /541 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of March 15, 2017”, and that the reference to the Penal Code is eliminated in the new text does not change anything.
Thus, Republican sources maintain that the scope of application “is exactly the same”, since the crimes included in the Penal Code had to be “necessarily” also contemplated in the European directives. “It was not an or in the Penal Code, or in the European directive,” they clarify. That is, all conditions had to be met.
Furthermore, they highlight that the final text is more similar to the one that ERC worked on with the PSOE and signed on November 2, than to the one that Junts agreed to a few days later with the socialists.
The feeling in Esquerra, therefore, is that “a month and a half” of time has been lost, as stated by Congress member Teresa Jordà. However, the party emphasizes that “the law is necessary, but it will not solve everything.” For example, they describe it as “camama” that the applicability of the law is immediate, as Junts argues. This would be yes because the Republicans do not doubt that “the courts that are in charge of the most high-profile issues”, such as the Supreme Court, which took over the trial of the leaders of the process and recently opened a criminal case for terrorism against Carles Puigdemont and the deputy of ERC Ruben Wagensberg, are going to request preliminary rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Or they will complain to the Constitutional Court if the law complies with the Magna Carta. Therefore, the return of Carles Puigdemont or Marta Rovira, general secretary of ERC,
In ERC they believe that the National Court – with the cause of the alleged Russian plot and terrorism by Tsunami Democràtic – and the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) will act in a similar way to the Supreme Court. “We will have to fight so that when they request these preliminary rulings they admit precautionary measures” for those affected, say Esquerra sources.
On the other hand, ERC applauds that it has finally been accepted that the fines applied under the gag law be returned, whether they are minor or serious. In statements to TV3, Marta Vilaret, deputy general secretary of rights, freedoms and anti-repressive struggle of the party, explained that with the new text, the Generalitat will be able to return the fines of the ‘gag law’ and that the article has been written “better” which refers to torture and degrading treatment. “We believe that it is important in the face of the trials that the 1-O police officers have to have,” she commented.
Pere Aragonès has spoken from the Parliament of Catalonia: “Today the path to ending repression begins. It is the beginning of the end of a nightmare.” The president of the Generalitat has stressed that the law admits that the “repression has been illegitimate. “It is bad news for the judges of the National Court and the Supreme Court, who play politics with the Penal Code,” he concluded.
