Former Culture Ministers file lawsuit against the judge in Huesca to force the transfer of the Sijena artworks

BarcelonaFormer Catalan Ministers of Culture Lluís Puig, Laura Borrás, Ferran Mascarell, Joan Manuel Tresserras, and Àngels Ponsa filed a lawsuit this Tuesday with the High Court of Justice of Aragon (TSJA) against the judge in Huesca, demanding that she halt any action stemming from the transfer of the artworks. During the presentation of the lawsuit at the Cotxeres de Sants, as reported by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), the former ministers warned that the legal proceedings are essentially "political" and that the response from the Catalan government, the Ministry of Culture, and the Barcelona City Council is "weak." They also lamented that Aragon is promoting the measure to "eliminate" Catalan identity. Former Minister Ferran Mascarell questioned whether this matter is intended as a humiliation for Catalans, given that the Prado Museum in Madrid is not required to return other works in a similar situation. "They are absolutely convinced that Catalan identity must be eradicated," he warned. Speaking via videoconference, former Catalan Minister Lluís Puig called for compliance with Catalan cultural heritage laws and warned that they do not intend to surrender. "The last action left to us will be to chain ourselves to the doors of the MNAC," he quipped about the current state of the legal proceedings. "I hope the lawsuit stops the irreparable damage that the destruction of these works would cause to humanity," Puig pleaded. Former Catalan Minister Joan Manuel Tresserras called for the preservation of the works' integrity and asserted that there is an operation underway to fragment the territorial unity of certain regions. After praising the heritage work carried out by the Catalan side, he stated that when Aragon accuses Catalans of plundering, "it's a lie." "The Generalitat's main mistake has been not being diligent enough in explaining what has been done so that the Catalan people can feel proud of it," Tresserras said. Former councilor Laura Borràs said they have the "force of reason" and that Catalans cannot resign themselves to a situation that challenges everyone. Borràs argued that the issue is one of the most elaborate forms of "Catalanophobia." She stated that no legal decision should supersede the principle of preservation and that the spirit of possession cannot prevail over the desire for conservation. For all these reasons, the former councilor and former president of the Parliament said that Sijena is a legal battle "but also a political, cultural, moral, and national one."

Former councilor Àngels Ponsa, in turn, stated that this "attack on heritage" is not against the Generalitat (Catalan government), but against the entire Catalan people: "Cultural rights that are universal are being violated." Finally, lawyer Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas argued that the lawsuit has a clear political agenda to "stir consciences." "It is enough that the Generalitat, the ministry, and the Barcelona City Council have stood idly by and haven't lifted a finger to save it. If the works are destroyed, humanity loses," he asserted. The lawyer affirmed that the three levels of government have the means to stop "this disaster with fatal consequences."

The lawsuit

The lawsuit for the crimes of malfeasance and offenses against historical heritage is primarily directed against the magistrate of Court 2 of the Civil and Criminal Section of the Huesca Court of First Instance. Therefore, the complaint is filed with the High Court of Justice of Aragon (TSJA) because she holds a protected position. It is also directed, as instigators, against the representatives of the Aragonese government and the Vilanova de Sijena City Council who ordered the filing of the lawsuit for the forced execution of the July 2016 judgment. The plaintiff argues that the legal value to be protected—in this case, historical heritage—cannot be jeopardized. To further support this argument, the plaintiff cites as an example the precautionary measure issued in September 2017 by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, which ordered the police to prevent the holding of the October 1st referendum. According to the complaint, municipal officials from Sijena and the Aragonese government induced the judge to forcibly execute her 2016 sentence "with full awareness and intent that the requested execution ignored the established evidence that it entailed the destruction or serious alteration of a [unclear]." The sentence was not declared final by the Supreme Court until May of last year, and the judge initiated the execution proceedings in July. According to the document, the request for forced execution is "the consequence of a political will that deviates from what is necessary with respect to the principle of legality." "Citizens are free to act according to their will, conscience, and good judgment, with the law as their limit; but public officials or employees can only act in accordance with the path and actions prescribed by law," it adds. The document recalls that the Huesca court itself, in the provisional enforcement proceedings of that sentence in 2018, already denied the transfer of the artworks precisely because of the latent danger and/or certain outcome of damage to the murals. "The material reality has not changed; the artworks are the same, and the circumstances of the transfer are also the same," they assert. "It is evident that the actions that are the subject of this complaint endanger the destruction of specially protected assets that are part of the world's historical and artistic heritage, since they have the highest level of legal protection," the text states. Furthermore, it recalls that Spain ratified the statutes of ICCROM, the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, in 1958. ICCROM is a UNESCO agency whose mission is to help member states conserve their cultural heritage. Therefore, the document also asks the TSJA to inform the ICCROM, based in Rome, of the filing of the complaint so that it may act as it sees fit.

To argue the danger of the transfer, the lawsuit cites numerous reports issued by experts and independent bodies between 2016 and 2025. "The execution of this civil judgment cannot be carried out if this act implies the consummation of a crime, as is the case here, because that contravenes the principle, because this contravenes exceptions to the execution of judgments if they are materially impossible to fulfill."

For all these reasons, the lawsuit requests the questioning of the judge from Huesca and the high-ranking officials of the Aragonese government and the Vilanova de Sijena City Council who ordered the filing of the lawsuits for forced execution of the judgment. The lawsuit also warns that the possible civil liability should be assumed by Spain, in the case of the judge, and subsidiarily by the governments of Aragon and Sijena.

Finally, the document justifies the filing of the lawsuit by the Former councilors asserted that while in office they were responsible for preserving the historical and artistic heritage located in Catalonia, and that they currently continue to have a direct responsibility and interest in the preservation of cultural assets.