Catalonië in de media
Nieuws uit diverse bronnen: daar zijn veel buitenlandse media bij, omdat de Nederlandse media naar verhouding erg weinig over Catalonië berichten.
Pedro Sánchez confirms his ‘no’ to a Catalan referendum before dialogue begins
15 september 2021 – Two key ideas: the positions of the sides are "very distant" and the dialogue table must work "with no haste, but no hold-ups". These are the concepts that Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez wanted to convey after meeting for almost two hours with Catalan president Pere Aragonès at the Palau de la Generalitat in Barcelona, in the preparatory meeting before the reactivation of the negotiation forum between the Spanish state and the Catalan government. From the Generalitat palace's Gothic gallery, the Spanish PM once again certified his firm 'no' to the two main proposals of the Catalan delegation: a referendum on self-determination, and a law to grant an amnesty to all those facing judicial and police action over the independence process.
Prosecutors appeal acquittal of CDR activist Tamara Carrasco to Supreme Court
13 september 2021 – Her controversial case - with an initial terrorism charge and under house arrest in her hometown before the case was thrown out by a judge - is one of the few judicial victories for Catalan pro-independence forces. But Spanish prosecutors are refusing to admit defeat and they want pro-independence activist Tamara Carrasco to be convicted. Despite being prohibited from leaving her town for a whole year while accused of terrorism, the CDR (Committee for the Defence of the Republic) activist eventually went to trial on a public disorder accusation and in the end the court acquitted her.
Catalan Government Sends Reports to the UN, Denouncing the Violation of Fundamental Rights by Spain
15 augustus 2021 – The Catalan government’s Directorate-General for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (DGDH), which is integrated into the Ministry for Equality and Feminism, has sent two reports to the UN, denouncing the violation of fundamental rights by Spain.
ANC plans to ‘flood Barcelona’ on Sept 11th, and ‘mobilize Catalonia’ on Oct 1st-3rd
13 augustus 2021 – Today, the ANC has provided some details on these last dates, summed up as follows: On September 11th we will flood Barcelona. On October 1st, 2nd and 3rd we will mobilize the whole country!
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Aragonès demands full commitment from ‘everyone’ to Catalonia-Spain dialogue table
13 augustus 2021 – The president of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, has defended that no Catalan independence supporter should have any remorse or doubts about defending what they want, wherever they are, which is the right to self-determination and an amnesty
, in reference to the dialogue table on the Spain-Catalonia political conflict.
Òscar Escuder: No language of 10 million speakers is legally as unprotected as Catalan
9 augustus 2021 – The situation of the Catalan language could enter a critical phase if nothing is done to correct current trends. That is the warning being sounded by Plataforma per la Llengua ("Platform for the Language"). In the 28 years since it was founded, this non-governmental organization has become the reference body in terms of defending the linguistic rights of Catalan speakers and promoting the language. Its president, Òscar Escuder, says that Catalans need to recover their self-esteem as speakers of their language.
How Catalan gastronomy took over the world
7 augustus 2021 – For decades —or centuries, some will argue—, France was seen as the standard-bearer of top-notch cuisine, and French chefs lauded as the epitome of creativity and sophistication when it came to food.
But at some point at the turn of the 21st century, the focus shifted south: to Spain and, more specifically, to Catalonia.
Pardoned Catalan independence leader: This is a question of democracy, not nationalism
6 juli 2021 – Raül Romeva insists on need for amnesty and dialogue ‘with no limitations’ to resolve conflict.
Jordi Cuixart to the UN: ‘Spanish repression in Catalonia is not over’
2 juli 2021 – Omnium president calls on human rights council to make Spain fulfill its international commitments
Catalan prisoners and exiles, reunited: the re-encounter (in private) at Waterloo
2 juli 2021 – Last week, the pardons of the Catalan political prisoners; this week, the first reunions between the two parts of the pro-independence leadership, exiles and prisoners, most of whom had been physically separated since autumn 2017. On Friday morning, four of the prisoners travelled to Belgium to meet president Carles Puigdemont and minister Lluís Puig, although the precise moment of re-encounter took place behind closed doors. However, and at the insistence of the media, Puigdemont, Puig and the prisoners later appeared before the press waiting at the door.
De Spaanse Rekenkamer ruïneert de Catalaanse leiders
30 juni 2021 – Is Spanje nog wel een liberale democratie, gezien de manier waarop het land omgaat met politiek andersdenkenden? Ditmaal wordt de vraag opgeworpen door de Italiaanse econoom Michele Boldrin. Hij deelt de bezorgdheid van een legertje Nobelprijswinnaars economie – 33 stuks, onder wie Paul Krugman, Angus Deaton en Joseph Stiglitz – die in een open brief hun steun betuigen aan hun Catalaanse collega Andreu Mas-Colell. De Spaanse Rekenkamer dreigt hem en veertig andere ex-leden van de Catalaanse regering te ruïneren met een miljoenenclaim.
Victòria Alsina: Pardons are not the end of the conflict between Catalonia and Spain
1 juli 2021 – The new Catalan foreign minister, Victòria Alsina, believes that the pardons to the nine political prisoners who spent three and a half years in jail over the 2017 referendum is ‘not the end of the conflict between Catalonia and Spain.’ In an interview with Catalan News, she said the Spanish government decision last week is only a ‘partial solution’ that affects those who were behind bars and their families, but is not a way out of the decade-long independence issue.
Catalan government reminds consuls: the pardons don't solve the conflict
25 juni 2021 – Catalan foreign minister Victòria Alsina has addressed a letter to the consular body established in Barcelona in which she explains that this week’s pardons of the nine pro-independence politicians and civil society leaders ‘do not resolve the political conflict between Catalonia and Spain’.
Negen Catalaanse leiders vrijgelaten na gratie van Spaanse regering
23 juni 2021 – In Catalonië zijn de negen veroordeelde leiders van de mislukte afscheiding met Spanje vrijgelaten. De separatisten werden in 2019 veroordeeld tot een jarenlange gevangenisstraf voor het organiseren van een referendum over onafhankelijkheid voor Catalonië. Premier Pedro Sánchez had deze week al gratie aangekondigd. Gisteren werd het besluit door koning Felipe officieel goedgekeurd en ondertekend.
Catalan leaders to leave prison after Spanish government confirms pardons
22 juni 2021 – The Spanish government has granted pardons to nine jailed pro-independence leaders in Catalonia serving decade-long sentences for their role in the 2017 referendum and independence push.
The cabinet approved the measure at its weekly meeting on Tuesday, after its president, Pedro Sánchez, had announced it on Monday, arguing the decision had been made in order to support "reconciliation" among Catalans and between Catalonia and Spain.
Spaanse regering wil ‘verenigen’ en gaat gratie verlenen aan negen Catalaanse leiders
21 juni 2021 – De Spaanse premier Pedro Sánchez gaat gratie verlenen aan negen Catalaanse separatisten die in de cel zitten. Dat kondigde hij aan op een bijeenkomst in Barcelona over de relatie met de noordoostelijke regio Catalonië.
Sánchez sprak zijn plannen uit in het beroemde Liceu-theater in Barcelona. Hij wil zich naar eigen zeggen weer verenigen met de regio en werken aan ‘een toekomst voor heel Spanje’. Volgens de premier is de gratie een gebaar om een uitweg uit de Catalaanse crisis te vinden.
Five years' jail for Catalan independence activist for incident in 2018 march
16 juni 2021 – A Barcelona court has sentenced a Catalan independence supporter to five years in prison for injuring a riot police officer on the wrist during a counter-demonstration to the rally called by the right-wing Jusapol police union on September 29th, 2018.
Spanish police to face trial for actions during Catalan independence referendum
16 juni 2021 – A court in Girona has ordered 28 police officers to be tried for their actions during the 2017 Catalan independence referendum. The charges relate to incidents in various polling stations in the northern city of Girona and the nearby village of Aiguaviva. Of the officers to be tried, 27 are members of Spanish National Police, while one is a member of the Civil Guard.
International human rights organizations back Jordi Cuixart in his appeal to European justice
15 juni 2021 – Some of the world’s most important human rights organizations will join Jordi Cuixart in his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg against the sentence that has kept him in prison for more than three and a half years. Cuixart is a Catalan activist and president of Òmnium Cultural.
Spanish government clarifies: Our interest is to put Puigdemont on trial in Spain
10 juni 2021 – The Catalan political conflict has once again brought to light discrepancies within the Spanish coalition government. First, social rights minister Ione Belarra, of the Podemos party, asserted this morning that exiled Catalan president Carles Puigdemont could return to Catalonia without being arrested, having had his immunity as an MEP restored. Only a few hours had to go by before the senior partner, the PSOE, corrected the course. It was the spokesperson for the executive, María Jesús Montero, who explained that the "interest" of the Spanish government is that the former president and Junts MEP be extradited to Spain and put on trial before the Supreme Court. All this, as the debate rages on pardons for the political prisoners.
First Catalan political prisoner to take case to European Court of Human Rights
9 juni 2021 – The activist Jordi Cuixart has become the first Catalan political prisoner to take his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The president of the civic organization Òmnium Cultural is serving a 9-year prison sentence for sedition after leading a protest on 20 September 2017 in the buildup to the 1 October 2017 referendum. He spent two years in pre-trial detention before the Supreme Court convicted him on 14 October 2019.
Gestures and messages in first Aragonès-Sánchez face-to-face: ‘A new us’
7 juni 2021 – The first official greeting exchanged between Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez and Catalan president Pere Aragonès since the latter came to power as head of a new government last month. The two coincided at the event that the association organized in honour of the publisher and businessman Javier Godó, count of Godó. I hope this is the beginning of the solution,
said Foment leader, Josep Sánchez Llibre in his presentation speech.
Riskante Gnade für die katalanischen Separatisten
5 juni 2021 – Der spanische Ministerpräsident will die katalanischen Separatistenführer begnadigen. Pedro Sánchez riskiert mit dem Straferlass seine Macht – dem Land dürfte er dagegen guttun.
European media report Spain’s failure after EU court backs Puigdemont
3 juni 2021 – The decision of the European Union's General Court (EGC) to restore the parliamentary immunity of Catalan MEPs Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí has been widely reported around Europe, with Spain being seen as failing once again in its approach to the issue. Moreover, the EGC decision is unusual and also involves another European institution - the Parliament - being corrected. Thus, the issue has captured the interest of the press across the continent.
European General Court gives immunity back to three Catalan MEPs
3 juni 2021 – Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín, and Clara Ponsatí, three exiled Catalan politicians serving as members of the European Parliament, have recovered their political immunity following a provisional ruling by the European General Court. Exiled Catalan president Puigdemont and his two colleagues, all of whom were elected in the European election as members of the pro-independence Junts per Catalunya party, were stripped off their parliamentary rights last March, after a majority of fellow MEPs in the chamber voted in favor.
Miquel Strubell: Spain has poured countless resources into demonizing Catalonia’s pro-independence movement
3 juni 2021 – An interview with the sociolinguist and ANC founder who has recently published a book in English on the lies spread by Spain about Catalonia.
Politicians should not face prosecution for statements made in the exercise of their political mandates as long as they respect certain limits
3 juni 2021 – Politicians need a particularly high level of protection of freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, both in parliament and when speaking to their constituents, but that freedom of speech is not unlimited,
today said PACE’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, adding that hate speech as well as calls for the violent overthrow of democratic institutions are not protected. Everyone, and in particular politicians, has the right to make proposals whose implementation would require changes of the constitution, provided the means advocated are peaceful and legal
, the committee underlined.
Vengeance, revenge and Brand Spain
26 mei 2021 – A mere 24 hours after the swearing-in of Pere Aragonès as president of Catalonia, the Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has given the first public signals from Brussels that, in the coming weeks, sitting on the table before his government cabinet, will be the pardons for the Catalan political prisoners. The way he explained it deserves, as a minimum, the following considerations.
Katalonien: Neuer Regierungschef, neue Wege zur Unabhängigkeit
22 mei 2021 – Katalonien hat im Februar ein neues Regional-Parlament gewählt. Doch erst seit gestern Freitag hat die spanische Region, zu der auch Barcelona gehört, einen Regional-Präsidenten. Er heisst Pere Aragonès und gehört der linken Separatistenpartei, der ‘Esquerra Republicana’, an, einer von insgesamt drei Parteien, die die Loslösung von Madrid zum Ziel haben. Doch wie will er das konkret anstellen? Das Gespräch mit dem deutsch-spanischen Historiker Carlos Collado Seidel.
Third time’s the charm:
Aragonès becomes Catalan president, ERC takes the reins
21 mei 2021 – In the ERC offices at Parliament it was finally time to open a few craft beers. Never in Catalonia's post-Franco era had a presidential candidate needed three voting sessions to be elected by the chamber, just as never in the last decade had a president succeeded in gathering such a large majority. Not since Pasqual Maragall's 2003 investiture had there been an investiture with 74 votes in favour - today, those of the three pro-independence parties ERC (Republican Left), Junts (Together for Catalonia) and the CUP (Popular Unity Candidature). Both of these achievements are clear examples of the resilience of Pere Aragonès, who this Friday at noon was proclaimed the 132nd president of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
Russia’s irony about closure of case linking Catalan referendum with Moscow
17 mei 2021 – Although it has gone largely unreported by major Spanish media, this Monday it was made public that Spain's National Audience court has closed the case on the alleged presence of Russian spies in Catalonia shortly before the independence referendum of 1st October 2017. The reason: not even minimal indications of any crime. And Russia has already reacted.
The Right of Catalonian Leaders to Protest
17 mei 2021 – On 22 April, the Spanish Constitutional Court issued its first judgement on the constitutionality of the conviction of the Catalonian leaders for the events of October 2017. It upheld the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the crime of sedition which blurs the line between legitimate protest and sedition.
Catalonië heeft nieuwe regering na maanden van onderhandelen
17 mei 2021 – Twee rivaliserende separatistische partijen in Catalonië hebben een akkoord gesloten over de vorming van een coalitieregering. Ze willen drie maanden na de stembusgang voorkomen dat de Spaanse regio opnieuw naar de stembus moet. Volgens plaatselijke media hebben de linkse Esquerra Republicana (ERC) en de partij Junts per Catalunya (Samen voor Catalonië) een akkoord gesloten voor een regering onder leiding van ERC-kopstuk Pere Aragonès.
Over a hundred international personalities and organizations show support to Catalan self-determination
14 mei 2021 – A collection of signatures in support of Catalonia’s right to freedom as a people, coordinated by the Catalan National Assembly, brings together 116 personalities and entities from around twenty countries all over the world. The signatories call for an end to Spanish repression, respect for the fundamental rights of the victims of repression, the release of prisoners, and recognition of the right to self-determination of the people of Catalonia.
Historic ruling by European Court of Justice opens possible way for Catalan exiles to return
12 mei 2021 – The Luxembourg Court states that citizens cannot be prosecuted once they have firm resolutions against their extradition in any EU country
Of the amnesty, one cannot even speak
12 mei 2021 – One has the impression that Spain is very clear about where its vulnerabilities lie - basically, there are two: the Catalan independence movement and the corruption in the monarchy - and it has decided to apply the same recipe to both: about these issues, not a word can be said.
Swiss MPs force the federal government to take a stance on Spain’s repression in Catalonia
7 mei 2021 – They call on the government to act in accordance with international commitments, fundamental freedoms, democracy and the rule of law
Criminal or Martyr? Prisoner Poses a Political Dilemma for Spain
4 mei 2021 – Off a leafy boulevard in Barcelona sit the headquarters of Omnium Cultural, an organization known in Spain as much for its literary prizes as for its dreams of an independent republic in Catalonia.
But its president, Jordi Cuixart, is nowhere to be found: For the last three and a half years, he has lived in a prison cell.
To the Spanish authorities, Mr. Cuixart is a dangerous criminal, convicted of sedition for leading a rally at a time when he and other separatist leaders were seeking to set up a breakaway state in the northeastern region of Catalonia. Yet to his supporters, and in the eyes of many foreign countries, he is a political prisoner sitting in the heart of Europe.
Morocco grants asylum to former Catalan leader
1 mei 2021 – Morocco has decided to grant political asylum to the former leader of the Catalonia region, Carles Puigdemont, in a new and provocative move against Spain, which recently allowed the Sahrawi President Brahim Ghali to enter its territory. Puigdemont is accused by the Spanish authorities of provoking discord after his attempt to secede Catalonia from Spain in 2017.
Over 250 MEPs and MPs tell Spain that it's time to grant an amnesty in Catalonia
29 april 2021 – More than 250 members of parliament from 23 different countries, including 50 members of the European Parliament, have signed a letter addressed to the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez (PSOE), and the third deputy prime minister, Yolanda Díaz (Unidas Podemos), demanding an amnesty for all Catalans imprisoned, in exile or facing persecution as a result of their participation in the independence referendum of 1st October 2017.
Two Spanish Constitutional Court judges criticise Supreme Court's sedition sentence
28 april 2021 – A minority decision given by two judges belonging to Spain's Constitutional Court has defended the fundamental rights of convicted pro-independence politician Jordi Turull and argues that the sentence of 12 years' imprisonment and disqualification from office holding for sedition is disproportionate. The two judges, Juan Antonio Xiol and María Luisa Balaguer, make arguments that directly confront those of the rest of the court, which has rejected Turull's appeal and has backed the Supreme Court's 2019 ruling that sentenced Turull and eight other Catalan pro-independence leaders to long jail terms for sedition.
Political prisoner Jordi Cuixart: How can they expect us to regret anything?
7 april 2021 – This Friday it will be a month since seven of the Catalan pro-independence prisoners were ordered to return to a standard lock-up jail regime. In line with new doctrine created by the Spanish Supreme Court, a prisons court revoked, for the second time, the open prison regime that had been granted to them.
The US Department of State reports rights violations against the Catalan national minority and political prisoners
31 maart 2021 – The United States government has expressed concern about rights violations against the Catalan national minority and the existence of Catalan political prisoners in an annual report on violations of rights in the world.
Puigdemont puts case to recuse Spanish constitutional judge who is ‘not impartial’
19 maart 2021 – A new move by Carles Puigdemont's defence team. This time in the Constitutional Court. The exiled Catalan president's defence lawyer has filed an appeal for constitutional protection to the Spanish court in which it recuses judge Cándido Conde-Pumpido on the grounds that he does not have the ‘essential impartiality‘.
De Catalaanse kwestie: symptoom van de ziekte van Spanje
14 maart 2021 – Het is in de Spaanse hoofdstad Madrid oorverdovend stil rond de dialoog met Catalonië - een dialoog die nochtans ook voor de andere problemen waarmee het land kampt van levensbelang is, schrijft hispaniste en antropologe Christiane Stallaert.
Ik sta versteld van de daad van verraad tegen Puigdemont
11 maart 2021 – Een trieste dag voor het Europese Parlement. We hebben onze immuniteit verloren, maar het Europese Parlement en de democratie hebben veel meer verloren.
Zo reageerde de Catalaanse voormalig regiopresident Carles Puigdemont nadat 400 van de 705 Europarlementariërs (248 tegen) stemden voor het opheffen van zijn onschendbaarheid en die van twee andere Catalaanse politici.
Catalaanse vertaler Amanda Gorman moet opdracht inleveren: ‘Verkeerd profiel’
11 maart 2021 – De vertaling van het werk van de Amerikaanse spoken word-artieste Amanda Gorman levert op meer plekken in Europa moeilijkheden op. Nadat in Nederland Marieke Lucas Rijneveld de opdracht teruggaf na de nodige kritiek, heeft nu ook de Catalaanse vertaler de opdracht moeten afstaan. Volgens vertaler Victor Obiols voldeed hij uiteindelijk toch niet aan het gewenste profiel.
Puigdemont: In België heb ik ervaren wat het is te leven in een democratisch systeem
11 maart 2021 – Carles Puigdemont werd het internationale gezicht van de Catalaanse zaak sinds hij in 2017 even de onafhankelijkheid van zijn regio uitriep. Maar ik blijf een gewone jongen uit Amer die toevallig premier werd en zo enkele bouwstenen aandroeg voor een collectief project.
Wegkijken
9 maart 2021 – Met de opheffing van de onschendbaarheid van Carles Puigdemont opent het Europees Parlement de weg naar zijn politieke gevangenschap. Dat voelt erg ongemakkelijk aan.
58% of MEPs vote to lift immunity of Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí
9 maart 2021 – There were no leaks from the European Parliament. Until this morning at nine o'clock it was not confirmed from the presidency of the chamber that MEPs had approved the lifting of the immunity of the three Catalan MEPs in exile, Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí. The result of the vote in the chamber was even less decisive than in the earlier committee stage, with 400 MEPs voting in favour, 248 against and 45 abstentions. This represents 57.7% of the votes cast.
Catalaanse leider Puigdemont raakt immuniteit kwijt
9 maart 2021 – Het Europees Parlement heeft de immuniteit opgeheven van drie Catalaanse Europarlementariërs, onder wie de voormalige premier Carles Puigdemont. Spanje wil hen vervolgen voor separatisme, maar dat kon niet omdat de Catalanen lid zijn van het Europees Parlement. Europarlementariërs kunnen niet worden aangehouden, omdat ze immuniteit genieten.
Europees Parlement heft onschendbaarheid voormalige Catalaanse leider Puigdemont op: ‘Dag van schaamte en schande’
9 maart 2021 – Het Europees Parlement heeft de parlementaire onschendbaarheid opgeheven van de vroegere minister-president van Catalonië Carles Puigdemont en zijn oud-ministers Antoni Comin en Clara Ponsanti. Dit is een zwarte dag voor de Europese democratie
, reageren ze. Ook over hun medestanders die in Catalonië in de cel zitten, is er nieuws: zij moeten opnieuw voltijds naar de gevangenis. Geert Bourgeois (N-VA) heeft het over ‘een dag van schaamte, een dag van schande’.
Spanish government warns new Barça president Laporta about being pro-independence
8 maart 2021 – Less than 24 hours after Joan Laporta won a clear election victory to become the new president of Futbol Club Barcelona and he has already received his first warning. And not from within the Barça club, nor for anything to do with football, but rather, from a political leader in Madrid. José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, the Spanish minister of culture and sport, has given a warning to the new president of the Catalan football club about his politics.
Bárcenas says PP offered him € 500,000 to mix up ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ in accounts
8 maart 2021 – The secret, undeclared parallel accounting of Spain's Popular Party (PP) was a constant throughout the period that Luis Bárcenas was present at the party's Madrid headquarters, which spanned three decades. This is what he told the National Audience this Monday, at the beginning of the Bárcenas papers trial. Not only that, but he pointed a finger directly at former prime minister Mariano Rajoy, insisting that he also received the controversial bonuses under the acronym ‘M. Rajoy’.
Groenlinks tegen opheffen immuniteit Catalaanse europarlementariërs
8 maart 2021 – Drie Europarlementariërs worden in Spanje vervolgd vanwege hun rol in het streven naar een onafhankelijk Catalonië. Dit zijn Carles Puigdemont, Antoni Comín en Clara Ponsatí. Hen hangt zware gevangenisstraffen boven het hoofd vanwege vermeende betrokkenheid bij ‘opruiing, ongehoorzaamheid en misbruik van openbare middelen’. Als verkozen leden van het Europees Parlement worden ze momenteel beschermd door immuniteit tegen vervolging.
Spanish royals, vaccinated on visit to fugitive father with public cost of €33,600
3 maart 2021 – The Spanish interior ministry covered all the security expenses for the two infantas, Elena and Cristina, during a week-long trip to Abu Dhabi in February. A week that served the sisters of current king Felipe VI to have a holiday, visit their fugitive father - the disgraced Juan Carlos I - and to get a Covid-19 vaccination shot. The vaccines were "offered" to them, the two women themselves admitted in a statement made today after the scandal broke, but the cost of being accompanied by security staff during their voyage was borne by the Spanish government, according to the newspaper La Política Online.
Puigdemont op herhaling
1 maart 2021 – De verkiezingen in Catalonië zijn net achter de rug, en het onafhankelijkheidskamp kreeg (bij een fors lagere opkomst) meer dan de helft van de stemmen. Maar de focus van de discussie over de Spaanse regio lag vorige week niet op Barcelona, maar op Straatsburg. Dinsdag nam de commissie juridische zaken van het Europees Parlement een rapport aan dat het opheffen van de immuniteit van de Catalaanse regioleider Carles Puigdemont en twee van zijn medestanders aanbeveelt. Dat zou kunnen leiden tot een nieuw Spaans verzoek om uitlevering.
Spain is the EU's Biggest Threat, Not Russia
1 maart 2021 – While Spain arrested rapper Pablo Hasél this month for exercising his right to freedom of expression, Russia humiliated the European Union, which Spain is a member of, by highlighting the country's repeated detention of Catalan political prisoners.
Manon Aubry: We are facing a threat to democracy
28 februari 2021 – An interview with the La France Insoumise MEP, who is outraged by attempts to lift Puigdemont, Ponsatí and Comín’s immunity.
Catalaanse moed
21 februari 2021 – Te midden van een wereldwijde pandemie, met veel bezette bedden in de IC, met een hoog besmettingspercentage, te midden van de economische en sociale crisis, heeft de Spaanse staat de datum voor de Catalaanse verkiezingen vastgesteld. [...] Deze verkiezingen hebben de Catalanen er op subtiele wijze aan herinnerd wie de rechterlijke, militaire en politieke macht in handen heeft.
Oude demonen steken de kop op bij arrestatie Spaanse rapper
19 februari 2021 – Duizenden mensen gingen deze week de straat op in Spanje na de arrestatie van rapper Pablo Hasél. Ze protesteerden tegen de straf van negen maanden gevangenis die Hasél kreeg voor zijn rapteksten en tweets. ...
‘Zaak rapper Hasél in Spanje leidt mogelijk tot schrappen omstreden wetten’
18 februari 2021 – Spanje lijkt langzaam toe te werken naar het schrappen van straffen voor belediging van het koningshuis en verheerlijking van terrorisme. Twee nachten van rellen nadat rapper Hasél werd opgesloten, brengen de zaak in een stroomversnelling.
Wie spanische Richter gegen Künstler vorgehen
17 februari 2021 – Spanien hat den Rapper Pablo Hasél hinter Gitter gesperrt und damit ein weiteres Beispiel geliefert, wie Richter gegen kritische Künstler, Musiker und Politiker vorgehen. Ist das Recht auf freie Meinungsäußerung in dem EU-Land in Gefahr?
Spanje blijft artiesten in de cel steken
17 februari 2021 – Majesteitsschennis. Opruiing. Verheerlijking van terrorisme. Het zijn halszaken in de Europese Unie. Niet in Hongarije of Polen, wel in Spanje. En zeker als die feiten zich voordoen in Baskenland of — momenteel — in Catalonië.
De Spaanse wet is voor interpretatie vatbaar
17 februari 2021 – Juan Carlos I, de vorige koning van Spanje, een maffiabaas noemen in een rapnummer of beweren dat de vijand een Jood is tijdens een bijeenkomst van 300 nostalgici van ex-dictator Franco. Waar begint en stopt het recht op vrije meningsuiting ? In Spanje wordt er dezer dagen uitvoerig over gedebatteerd en het veroorzaakte zware rellen in verschillende Catalaanse steden en in Valencia. In Barcelona verloor een jonge manifestante een oog door vermoedelijk een rubberkogel van de politie. Vanavond is er opnieuw protest dat ook is overgeslagen naar de straten van Madrid.
Catalaanse separatisten krijgen opnieuw een meerderheid
17 februari 2021 – Als de Spaanse staat één les zou moeten trekken uit de verkiezingen in Catalonië van zondag, dan is het wel dat je een probleem niet oplost door het te verbieden. En hoe gek het misschien ook klinkt in de 21ste eeuw, toch is dat in de voorbije jaren de leidende gedachte geweest in de strijd tegen het Catalaanse streven naar onafhankelijkheid: de kop indrukken, zo nodig hardhandig, dan verdwijnt het vanzelf.
Demonstraties en rellen in Catalonië na arrestatie Spaanse rapper
17 februari 2021 – In verschillende steden in de Spaanse regio Catalonië zijn gisteravond en vannacht duizenden demonstranten de straat op gegaan, nadat de politie een bekende rapper had gearresteerd. Er braken rellen uit. Zeker dertig mensen raakten gewond en vijftien mensen werden opgepakt.
Verschanste Spaanse majesteitschennispleger opgepakt na bestorming universiteit
16 februari 2021 – In Spanje hebben tientallen politieagenten een universiteit in de Catalaanse stad Lleída bestormd om een rapper te arresteren. Pablo Hasel had zich daar verschanst om een gevangenisstraf van negen maanden voor majesteitsschennis en verheerlijking van terrorisme te ontlopen.
Speaker at authorized fascist march in Madrid: “The Jew is to blame”
16 februari 2021 – In Madrid, it remains unclear how authorization was obtained for a fascist demonstration by hundreds of people this weekend, who walked through the streets of the Spanish capital until they reached the Almudena cemetery.
They gather every year, but the statements and speeches made in this edition were even more extreme and, in addition, they completely breached the safety rules in force to stop the spread of Covid-19.
The arrest of Pablo Hasél
16 februari 2021 – At first light on Tuesday morning, the police moved in and arrested the Catalan rapper Pablo Hasél. The Mossos d'Esquadra officers in riot gear entered the University of Lleida at around 7:30am to arrest the musician. A Spanish court had ordered that he must begin a prison term after being convicted for his lyrics and social media comments.
Court orders arrest of Catalan rapper Pablo Hasél, barricaded inside campus
15 februari 2021 – Spain’s National Audience court has issued an arrest warrant for the rapper Pablo Hasél this Monday evening. Now that it has been issued, any police officer or unit that detects him has an obligation to arrest him. However, it has been publicly announced that the rapper is barricaded inside the rectory at the University of Lleida. And, therefore, it is the Mossos d'Esquadra who will have to arrest Hasél, because it falls within the competencies of the Catalan police force.
The day after the election, prosecutors appeal the Catalan prisoners' leave regime
14 februari 2021 – They avoided entering the election campaign, but they are now stepping straight into the period of electoral pacts: the Spanish public prosecutor's office waited for the 14th February elections to the Parliament of Catalonia to be held before presenting their appeals against the Catalan prisoners' Level 3 prison leave regimes, and once again, locking up the political prisoners, Oriol Junqueras, Joaquim Forn, Raül Romeva, Josep Rull, Jordi Turull, Jordi Cuixart , Jordi Sànchez, Carme Forcadell and Dolors Bassa.
Spaans vaccin tegen Catalaans onafhankelijkheidsstreven werkt niet
15 februari 2021 – Wie de grootste verliezers zijn van de verkiezingen gisteren in Catalonië? Voor een keer zijn het niet de opiniepeilers; die zaten behoorlijk dicht op de finale resultaten van de stembus. Wel de buitenlandse journalisten en analisten. Die voorspelden dat het independentisme naar huis zou worden gespeeld door corona, de economische malaise, de terugloop van het Catalaanse bbp, de toename van de armoede. Niets is minder waar. De onafhankelijkheidspartijen scoorden vier extra zetels, en voor het eerst stemden meer dan de helft van de kiezers voor onafhankelijkheid. Een verslag.
Separatisten Catalonië behouden meerderheid in parlement
15 februari 2021 – De Catalaanse separatisten houden hun meerderheid. Dat blijkt uit de eerste exitpolls van de parlementsverkiezingen in de Spaanse regio Catalonië. De socialistische partij PSC van Salvador Illa boekte een grote winst.
Met 90 procent van de stemmen geteld, ziet het het ernaar uit dat de drie onafhankelijkheidspartijen samen 74 van de 135 zetels in het parlement winnen. Bij de laatste verkiezingen in december 2017 waren dat er nog 70.
Catalaanse separatisten behalen grotere meerderheid in parlement
15 februari 2021 – De partijen in de Spaanse regio Catalonië die naar onafhankelijkheid streven, lijken zondag bij de regionale verkiezingen hun meerderheid in het parlement te hebben behouden. Dat melden Spaanse media op basis van de eerste exitpolls. 90 procent van de stemmen is inmiddels geteld.
Catalan rapper Hasél releases new song calling Spanish king a ‘fascist’
12 februari 2021 – The Catalan rapper who has been told to go to jail, Pablo Hasél, has released a new composition dedicated to the Spanish king Felipe VI on the same day as the deadline passes for him to report to prison. Hasél uploaded the video clip ‘Not even Felipe VI’ to Youtube this Friday and it has already been viewed thousands of times.
Waarom Europa de vingers liever niet brandt aan Catalonië
12 februari 2021 – Aanstaande zondag zijn er in Catalonië verkiezingen. Ruim drie jaar geleden mondden die verkiezingen uit in het opeisen van de onafhankelijkheid. Opmerkelijk is de dubbele standaard die de Europese Unie lijkt te hebben. Want een onafhankelijk Schotland zou door Europa met open armen worden ontvangen, terwijl de Catalaanse kwestie liever vermeden wordt. Brussel correspondent Tijn Sadée onderzoekt voor Bureau Buitenland hoe het zit.
De bijbehorende podcast
Zondag verkiezingen in Catalonië: “Hoe onafhankelijk wil Catalonië nog zijn?”
12 februari 2021 – Hoe onafhankelijk wil Catalonië nog zijn na de jarenlange strijd en met kopstukken in ballingschap of gevangenschap? De vraag staat centraal bij de parlementsverkiezingen in de Spaanse deelstaat komende zondag. An Baccaert liep voor "Terzake" een dag in het spoor van Jordi Cuixart, die een van de burgerbewegingen voor onafhankelijkheid leidt en nu in de gevangenis zit, maar af en toe een dag verlof krijgt.
Belgian prosecutor tells Llarena how Spanish case put fundamental rights at risk
9 februari 2021 – Why did the Belgian prosecutor not go to the final appeal stage when the Brussels Court of Appeal rejected the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) he was seeking - on behalf of Spanish justice - for exiled Catalan politician Lluís Puig? It was because the Brussels court had concluded that the defendant's fundamental rights were at risk of being violated by the extradition - including the right to effective judicial protection and presumption of innocence. And the nature of this conclusion activated jurisprudence which stopped the process in its tracks. This is what the Belgian prosecution service explained directly to Spanish Supreme Court investigating judge Pablo Llarena, in a letter to which ElNacional.cat has had access.
Bárcenas, the PP and the ‘Caja B’: a guide to a major Spanish corruption trial
8 februari 2021 – The first verdict in the Gürtel corruption case, centred on Spain's Popular Party (PP), set off a political earthquake that ended up claiming Mariano Rajoy's scalp. But that was just the beginning. This Monday, the so-called Bárcenas papers trial has opened before the National Audience court in Madrid. And it has been preceded by the dropping of a bombshell: the confession of Luis Bárcenas, the main defendant. The former treasurer of Spain's main party of the right has admitted that for three decades, the party used an illegal financing system, of a structural nature, which allowed it to enter elections supercharged with funds and to distribute envelopes with bonuses to the main leaders of the party (including to one ‘M. Rajoy’).
EU’s Borrell calls for release of Navalni; Russia brings up the jailed Catalans
5 februari 2021 –EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, was this morning forced to listen to the criticisms of the European Union - and specifically Spain - made by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in response to the European demand for the release of opposition Russian politician Alexei Navalni and his supporters. Lavrov's reply on the Navalni question recalled issues of police brutality in Europe and, in particular, the situation of the jailed Catalan pro-independence leaders, and he accused Borrell and Europe of applying a double standard.
Russian foreign minister reminds Borrell of Catalan political prisoners in a tense joint appearance
5 februari 2021 – Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reprimanded the European Union for the imprisonment of Catalan political leaders after European Foreign Minister Josep Borrell demanded the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalni.
Ex-treasurer of Spain's PP agrees to tell all at corruption trial: ‘Rajoy knew’
3 februari 2021 – With five days to go before the start of the major Spanish corruption trial centred on the undeclared alternative accounts kept by the Popular Party (PP), former party treasurer Luis Bárcenas has broken the pact of silence he had with the party and has confessed to its illegal financing. The ex-treasurer of Spain's main right-wing party has sent a letter to anti-corruption prosecutors expressing his willingness to cooperate with the judiciary in all the cases that are open, giving details of the PP's opaque accounting and saying that former PM Mariano Rajoy knew perfectly well that it existed.
Protests as rapper given 10 days to enter jail for lyrics and tweets
31 januari 2021 – Two protests were held on Saturday from 7 pm to protest against the Spanish National Court's decision to give a ten-day period to the Catalan rapper Pablo Hasél to enter jail after being convicted for some lyrics and tweets criticizing Spain's crown and institutions.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Lleida's plaça de la Catedral and in Barcelona's Jardinets de Gràcia and urged "a total amnesty for the democratic rights and freedoms.
In Barcelona, the march moved to the surroundings of Spain's delegation office, where some threw bottles to Catalan police officers and some dumpsters were set on fire.
‘This is not freedom’: Catalan pro-independence leaders leave jail
30 januari 2021 – Jailed pro-independence prisoners in Catalonia have been allowed to leave jail with their privileges restored after being suspended two months ago by Spain’s Supreme Court. They are classed as third degree, or low-risk, inmates and will only have to sleep in prison from Monday to Thursday.
Jordi Cuixart: “Let's fill the ballot boxes with pro-independence votes”
29 januari 2021 – Political prisoner Jordi Cuixart has called on Catalans to ‘fill the ballot boxes with pro-independence votes‘ in Catalonia's parliamentary elections, now definitively scheduled for Sunday February 14th. Cuixart, the jailed president of the Òmnium Cultural association, left Lledoners penitentiary this Friday morning after yesterday's decision by Catalan justice department officials to restore the political prisoners' rights to a more open Level 3 prison regime.
Spain’s handling of independence conflict ‘worrying’ for democracy, says parliament speaker
26 januari 2021 – Spain's handling of the Catalan independence conflict is very ‘worrying from a democratic standpoint.’
This is according to Roger Torrent, the Catalan parliament speaker of the left-wing pro-independence Esquerra Republicana party, who issued a harsh denunciation on Tuesday of what he described as the ‘constant judicialization’ of a political conflict during the 46th political committee meeting of the Francophonie Parliamentary Assembly.
Belgian justice humiliates the Supreme Court: the exiles win again
8 Januari 2021 – The Spanish Supreme Court was left in ridicule again on Thursday after the Brussels Court of Appeal once more rejected its demand for the extradition of the exiled Catalan culture minister, Lluís Puig. The news, in addition to being excellent for the exiled politician - since there would now have to be a veritable cataclysm in the future before this court or any other would change the decision - has a significant domino effect for the other three exiles who were also members of the Catalan government in October 2017 and over whom extradition orders are also pending: president Carles Puigdemont and ministers Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí. Given that the judge of first instance in those cases is the same one who ruled on Puig, and the Court of Appeal of Brussels as well, the path to preserving their liberty seems definitively clear.
Nieuws & Achtergrond
- Interview met Carles Puigdemont, voortaan dus Europees Parlementslid
- Gevangen en uitgeweken voor de Spaanse repressie
- Pedro Sánchez confirms his ‘no’ to a Catalan referendum before dialogue begins
- Prosecutors appeal acquittal of CDR activist Tamara Carrasco to Supreme Court
- Catalan Government Sends Reports to the UN, Denouncing the Violation of Fundamental Rights by Spain
- ANC plans to ‘flood Barcelona’ on Sept 11th, and ‘mobilize Catalonia’ on Oct 1st-3rd
- Aragonès demands full commitment from ‘everyone’ to Catalonia-Spain dialogue table
- Òscar Escuder:
No language of 10 million speakers is legally as unprotected as Catalan
- How Catalan gastronomy took over the world
- Pardoned Catalan independence leader: This is a question of democracy, not nationalism
- Jordi Cuixart to the UN: ‘Spanish repression in Catalonia is not over’
- Catalan prisoners and exiles, reunited: the re-encounter (in private) at Waterloo
- Raad van Europa: Spanje en Turkije schenden mensenrechten
- Opnieuw Spaanse justitie
- De eerste barsten
- Spanje: een groeiend probleem voor Europa
- De woedende rechter
- Een onafhankelijkheidsregering?
- Een voortijdig einde van een TV debat
- Oh Europa!
- Europarlement beslist over politieke rechtsvervolging door Spanje
- Spaanse Staatsoperatie mislukt
- ‘Een voorbeeldige rechtszaak’
- Advocaat Paul Bekaert:
Als Spanje een rechtsstaat is, weet ik het niet meer
- Catalaanse leiders naar Europees Hof om celstraf aan te vechten
- Woede over jarenlange gevangenisstraffen voor Catalaanse separatisten
- Catalaanse separatisten veroordeeld: dit moet u weten over de grootste Spaanse strafzaak in jaren
- ‘Voor eens en voor altijd: er zijn geen politieke gevangenen in Spanje’
- Alfred Bosch: ‘Je lost de Catalaanse kwestie niet op door een begroting goed te keuren’
- Proces Catalonië: staking, spanning en surrealisme
- Rull: waarom zitting niet in ‘t Catalaans?
- Spaans showproces is een schandvlek voor de hele Europese Unie
Het Proces:
weblog Rico Brouwer
- Rechtzaak in Madrid - laatste dag; 12 juni 2019
- The @UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention report on the three Catalan political prisoners
- Violation of Fundamental Rights in Europe: The Catalan Trial as a Case Study
- Week 7 - Explaining the trial by Foreign friends of Catalonia
- Dag 9 week 3 - strafproces Madrid
- Dag 8 week 3 - strafproces Madrid
- Week 3 - strafproces Madrid
- Dag6 week2 strafproces Madrid
- Dag5 week2 strafproces Madrid
- Dag4 week2 strafproces Madrid
- Dag3 week1 strafproces Madrid
- Dag2 week1 strafproces Madrid
- Eerste zittingsdag week1, Explaining Catalonia en Laura op NPO-radio 1
- Alfred de Zayas over het proces in Spanje en de Petitie in Nederland
- Op 12 Februari begint het proces tegen de politieke gevangenen in Spanje
Carles Puigdemont
Politieke gevangenen
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