What will Strasbourg decide today regarding the causes of the trial?
The ECHR rules on the political rights of Sánchez, Junqueras and Turull while they were in pretrial detention
BarcelonaSo far, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has been overturning all resources of the pro-independence movement that has emerged. However, this Thursday marks another key date on the calendar because the court must rule on another case related to the Catalan independence process: the political rights of Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez, and Jordi Turull. The Strasbourg-based court itself has announced that it will publish its decision starting at 10:00 AM this Thursday.
This is one of the pending cases before the ECHR, although it is not yet the main case, which is related to the Supreme Court's ruling on the October 1st events for sedition and misuse of public funds. So, what must the court decide today? These are appeals related to the veto on political participation. Specifically, Oriol Junqueras brought before the ECHR the fact that he was not allowed to take his seat in the Catalan Parliament as a member of parliament following the elections of December 21, 2017; Jordi Sànchez, for not being able to participate in the election campaign, not being able to take his seat in the Catalan Parliament, and not being able to undergo an investiture debate as a member of parliament; and Jordi Turull for having been imprisoned between the first and second investiture debates.
They all allege the Spanish state's violation of several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, such as the right to liberty and security, freedom of expression, and the right to stand for election in free elections.
The Demirtas case
One of the precedents cited by the three former political prisoners in their appeals against Spain is that of Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas, whom Turkey imprisoned as a member of parliament and prevented from exercising his rights. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ordered his release in 2018, a precedent the Catalan political prisoners used to petition for their own freedom before both the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. All their petitions were denied, and now, after eight years, Strasbourg will decide whether or not Spain violated their rights.
