Two Telecinco journalists were sentenced in Leuven for recording a chat between Comín and Puigdemont.

BarcelonaSeven years later, there is a verdict: the two journalistsAna Rosa's program Telecinco's media outlets that recorded messages exchanged between former President Carles Puigdemont and MEP Toni Comín in Leuven (Flanders) in 2018 have been convicted of violating the privacy of both politicians. The unlawful disclosure of the chat, which was widely discussed on the Madrid presenter's program, will cost them €3,500 in compensation to Comín and Puigdemont for moral damages.

The events occurred on January 30, 2018, when a network camera recorded the messages Puigdemont and Comín exchanged via chat during an event in Belgium months after the 1-O referendum, the very day the then-speaker of the Parliament, Roger Torrent, decided to postpone Puigdemont's remote investiture. "This is over. Our people have sacrificed us," said the Junts leader, lamenting that "the Moncloa plan was triumphing" and that they were living "in the final days of republican Catalonia." The Leuven court of first instance concluded that "intercepting, accessing, and recording" these communications was not justified by press freedom, because the exchange was part of the private sphere of those involved. "The fact that these are public figures does not justify the acts committed," the court reasons. However, when setting the sentence, it took into account the time that has passed since the events: the court considers the guilty plea and financial compensation sufficient.

Ana Rosa told them they had "very thin skin"

That exchange of messages coincided with the postponement of the Parliamentary plenary session to remotely inaugurate Carles Puigdemont, following the December 20, 2017, elections. The Junts leader was due to travel to Leuven to participate in a joint event with a regional mayor—which prompted the Spanish press to attend—but the video was cancelled. However, the current MEP, Toni Comín, was present. The two Telecinco journalists, FH and LN, sat behind the former minister. From there, they filmed his cell phone and the next day they exaggerated its content, which Ana Rosa Quintana sold as a "big exclusive" for her program. Following complaints about the dissemination of private messages, the presenter attempted to defend herself: "Some gentlemen have violated all the laws and the Constitution... What a thin skin they have for a reason, but when it comes to what affects millions of citizens, we ignore the law," she stated. The former president has echoed the ruling on his social media.