The PSOE and Sumar agree to decriminalize insults to the Crown and offenses to religious sentiments

Barcelona / MadridIn the midst of a horribilis week for the PSOE due to the judicial agenda against Pedro Sánchez's inner circle, the socialists and Sumar have agreed to unblock one of the pending issues in Congress for the PSOE due to the judicial agenda against Pedro Sánchez's circle, the socialists and Sumar have agreed to unblock The document agreed between PSOE and Sumar also foresees the repeal of insults to the Cortes Generales or legislative assemblies (punishable by fines of twelve to eighteen months) and also against the high institutions of the State such as the Spanish government, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the equivalent bodies of the autonomous communities, and the armies and security forces and corps. What is maintained are the prison sentences of three to five years for those who use "force, violence or intimidation" against them and fines of twelve to eighteen months for those who "seriously threaten" them.

Regarding the repeal of the crime of offense to religious feelings, the agreement of the two parliamentary groups would, if finalized in Congress, put an end to the possibility of fines of eight to twelve months for anyone who offends a religious confession, whether "publicly, by word, in writing or by any type of document". In the same vein, the pact document also foresees the elimination from the Penal Code of the crime of offenses or outrages — by word or in writing — against Spain, the autonomous communities or their symbols and emblems, which are currently punished by law with fines ranging from six months to one year.

On the other hand, the deletion of the crime of glorifying terrorism provided for in article 548 of the Penal Code is excluded. Sumar's initial proposal contemplated it, but the PSOE has refused to approve it, so it will be withdrawn from the text during the parliamentary process that is now being reactivated. The government partners have set out to speed up the processing of the initiative and are confident of having the support of the plurinational majority for the reform to move forward at a time when the allies of the investiture are further away than ever from the Spanish executive and in a final stretch of the legislature in which there are serious doubts that a large part of the pending legislative agenda can be completed.

In fact, on the eve of the end of the current session period — there are only two ordinary plenary sessions left before summer — the approval of this proposal will not be immediate because it still has to overcome the vote on the amendments in their entirety, be debated with the groups and be approved in committee and in the Justice commission before returning to the plenary session of the lower house. Once approved, it would still have to go through the Senate.

"Puppeteers and illustrators"

"It would have been unforgivable not to try to repeal these articles in the Penal Code that have done so much harm to puppeteers and cartoonists," said the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, who appeared to present the pact with the deputy spokesperson for Sumar, Enrique Santiago, and the spokesperson for the Constitutional Commission of the PSOE, Artemi Rallo. Santiago described the agreed reform as a "democratic urgency." With this reform, PSOE and Sumar affirm their desire to "strengthen the right to freedom of expression, as corresponds to a quality and full democracy, and more specifically, to align Spain with international standards, with the United Nations and with the Council of Europe," explained Rallo, who recalled that the Spanish state has been condemned up to three times by the European Court of Human Rights, which recalls that freedom of expression protects demonstrations, situations, and acts such as the burning of photographs of the king, criticism of institutions such as the Crown, or offenses to the flag.