35 former senior officials of Puigdemont's government granted amnesty for the October 1st referendum

BarcelonaMore than a year after the amnesty was approved, judicial oblivion has reached the macro-case of the 1-O referendum, which was being investigated in Barcelona Court No. 13. The Barcelona Court has granted amnesty to 35 former senior officials of Carles Puigdemont's government and businessmen prosecuted for preparations for the referendum. Among them is former Foreign Minister Raül Romeva, who is being investigated in the case concerning the promotion of the process internationally, which was initially heard in Barcelona Court No. 18 before also being moved to Court No. 13. The Court thus reverses the decision of the investigating judge, who wanted to send them to trial for embezzlement. The Prosecutor's Office, on the other hand, had been in favor of the amnesty.

The case of court number 13 It was the first to be opened to investigate the 1-O referendum, and it has dragged on for eight years until now. In a resolution, consulted by ARA, Section 21 of the Court also granted amnesty for the crime of embezzlement, departing from the criterion that the Supreme Court has applied to the members of the Government convicted for the 1-O referendum and to former President Carles Puigdemont, still exiled in Brussels. In the case of undergovernmentThe judges maintain that there was no "intention to enrich themselves" that would make it impossible to apply the judicial omission. However, the Court has excluded Albert Royo and Roser Clavell, former secretaries general of Diplocat, from the amnesty regarding the accusations of administrative malfeasance against them. Among the charges against them are two irregular cleaning and auditing contracts that, in the judges' opinion, are unrelated to the trial. Therefore, the amnesty does not apply to them in this case.

Amnestyable "Clarification"

Regarding the remaining charges, the court maintains that they are "clearly included" in Article 1 of the Amnesty Law, as they are "conduct directly or indirectly aimed at achieving" the purposes of the Trial. This decision comes after that it has transpired that the Constitutional Court will give the green light to the law adopting the Spanish government's thesis that the amnesty contributes to the improvement of "coexistence" in Catalonia and that it is an "exceptional" measure that is included in the Constitution.

In addition to Romeva – who has yet to be amnestied by the Supreme Court also in the case of 1-O –, among the beneficiaries are the former general director of communications of the Generalitat Jaume Clotet; the former president of the Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media of Catalonia Núria Llorach; the former director of TV3 Vicent Sanchis, and the former director of Catalunya Ràdio Saül Gordillo. Also the former Secretary of Communication Antoni Molons, the former Secretary of Government Víctor Cullell, the former Secretary General of the Presidency Joaquim Nin and other members of the undergovernment, such as Teresa Prohias and Roger Albinyana. From Esquerra (Republic of the Left), Oriol Junqueras welcomed the court's decision, which he believes finally serves justice. "Thank you for having endured the emotional, family, financial, and time-stolen costs for so many years," he said.

The investigation in court number 13 began with Judge Juan Antonio Ramírez Sunyer taking advantage of the excuseThe statements of former ERC senator Santi Vidal, who claimed that the Generalitat had the tax data of all Catalans.. Then, the case shifted to preparations for October 1st and eventually had 48 people under investigation. But Sunyer died in November 2018, and the investigation was taken over by Judge Alejandra Gil. She had to merge that case with the files from the 18th Investigative Court, which was simultaneously investigating foreign action expenses related to the process. The case was already on the verge of going to trial in 2021. but the Court ordered the case to be reopened with new citations. Among these forty officials, initially, were Lluís Salvadó, Josep Maria Jové, and Natàlia Garriga, who were senior government officials during the referendum and moved to the High Court of Justice of Catalonia when they were elected to Parliament last term. The High Court of Justice (TSJC) considered their embezzlement cases "pardonable" last year, but decided to refer a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is still pending.