Strasbourg condemns Spain for fining two young men who burned photos of the king in Girona.

GironaThe European Court of Human Rights appeals to the Spanish courts: Strasbourg has condemned Spain for fining the two protesters who burned photos of the king in Girona in 2007. The Spanish courts fined Enric Stern and Jaume Roura 2,700 euros each, for which they would have served 15 months in prison. Among the judges who drafted the ruling are Luis López Guerra, vice president of the Constitutional Court from 1992 to 1995, and also elected as a PSOE deputy in the Community of Madrid in 2003; as well as the Andorran Pere Pastor Vilanova.

Now, Strasbourg is ordering Spain to compensate the plaintiffs with the same amount of the fine they paid, plus another 9,000 euros in costs and fees. The sentence was adopted unanimously, understanding that the court believes that the burning of the photos cannot be considered a manifestation of hate speech, and the criminal sentence is considered disproportionate to the acts committed.

The Constitutional Court Three years ago, the National Court upheld the ruling issued by the two young men from Girona, which had condemned them to pay two fines of 2,700 euros each for having burned photos of the king in Girona's Plaça del Vino on September 13, 2007. The high court considered that the crime for which they were convicted was "a crime of hate." "The burning of the physical image expresses that they deserve exclusion and hatred," the TC ruled at the time.

In 2016, the European Court of Human Rights admitted the appeal filed by Stern i Roura and opened proceedings against Spain because it believed the freedom of expression of the two convicted youths could have been violated. After the Constitutional Court upheld the High Court's ruling, the youths' defense attorneys took the case to Strasbourg, and this Tuesday, the European Court ruled in their favor.

A blow to Spanish justice

The defendants' lawyer, Benet Salellas, attacked the Spanish justice system after learning of the European Court's ruling: "It is a very profound and solid blow to the crime of insulting the Crown," he stated, after emphasizing that "it is an amendment to the entire ruling of the Constitutional Court, to Spanish justice, and to politics."

In fact, Salellas believes it could set a precedent for other cases opened for crimes of insulting the Crown, glorifying terrorism, or against the cases opened by the independence movement. "Now Estransburg has made it clear that, under no circumstances, can criticism of the configuration of a state be equated with a hate crime."

The lawyer also believes that the ruling by the Human Rights Court makes a "very clear case" that acts like the one carried out in the Plaza del Vino in September 2007, where photos of the king were burned, "can occur when political criticism is made." In this sense, the Constitutional Court, which in its 2015 ruling found that the conviction of those accused of inciting violence was justified, is also poignant. The European Court denies this: "A performance at a political protest cannot be understood as an act of inciting violence," the lawyer emphasized, adding that "Estrasbourg reaffirms the non-violent nature of the independence movement." It also establishes that "political criticism of Spain's institutions can never be considered hate speech."

The two convicted, Enric Stern and Jaume Pujol, were not present during the press conference to assess the European Court's ruling, but Nuri Brugada acted as their spokesperson to thank everyone for their support and to invite all citizens to the Plaça de Sant Pere. It is expected that photos of the king will be burned.

In fact, Martí Majoral, of Alerta Solidaria, has called for people to welcome the visits that the royal family makes to the Països Catalans "with creams from everyone's face, the king's face, and flames." "Now that the Fallas are coming, Mr. Fireworks can begin!" he joked to Majoral after dedicating the ruling to the political prisoners and the singers prosecuted for the lyrics of their songs. Jaume Asens, lawyer and deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council, has been one of the voices that has already applauded the ECHR ruling via Twitter: