Fifteen years after the events, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), based in Strasbourg, condemned Spain this Thursday for having imposed prison sentences on those who blocked access to the Parliament of Catalonia on June 15, 2011.
The ruling holds that the Spanish justice system – in this case the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court – violated Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights relating to freedom of expression and assembly.
The complaint before the highest body for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in Europe was filed in December 2021 by four citizens – three men and one woman – residing in Barcelona who were sentenced to three years in prison for their participation in the events, although they never actually went to jail and the sentence is time-barred. It was mainly about resolving a matter of principle.
One of the most interesting aspects of the ruling in the case officially known as “Molina Marín and others v. Spain” is the Strasbourg court’s rejection of the notion of an “intimidating atmosphere” or environmental violence put forward by the Spanish Supreme Court to justify sentences that the ECHR considers disproportionate. According to the Strasbourg judges, including the Spanish María Elósegui, the freedom of expression and assembly of those gathered in a protest remains valid and must be respected even if some protesters engage in sporadic acts of violence. The ruling specifies that the convicted were not attributed with specific acts of violence nor causing damage.
Read more A woman from Ceuta arrested for the stabbing homicide of an immigrant who entered irregularly
However, the ECHR dismissed, for technical reasons, the claim for compensation of 15,000 euros filed by the four convicted against the Spanish State. According to the court, the claimants did not specify the expenses they incurred.
The action ‘Aturem el Parlament, no deixarem que aprovin retallades’ (Stop the Parliament, we will not let them approve cuts), on June 15, 2011, took place before the session in which spending cuts within the austerity policy of the government led by Artur Mas were to be approved. There were clashes between protesters and the regional police and insults directed at deputies. Given the turn of events, Mas himself and the then president of the Parliament, Núria de Gispert, had to access the Ciutadella park by helicopter and many deputies did so in vans of the Mossos d’Esquadra.
Read more Version dance
