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MHP Carles Puigdemont i la JEC (Cartes per la República)

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LOGO CARTES X LA REP

Aquesta carta és una proposta per enviar a organismes europeus (European Ombudsman @EUombudsman, Comissionaria de Justícia @EUCourtPress ‏, Comissionaria de Drets Humans @CommissionerHR, Nacions Unides_Drets Humans @UNHumanRights, EUR-Lex @EURLex , etc.)

L’objectiu és demanar la restitució dels drets polítics del MHP Carles Puigdemont, i els Consellers Clara Ponsatí i Toni Comín davant la impossibilitat de ser electors al Parlament Europeu el 26 de maig 2019. La carta està basada en un article de J. Pérez Royo https://www.eldiario.es/zonacritica/Puigdemont-Junta-Electoral-Central_6_893870642.html, amb adaptació i traducció de @d4veCAT.

Cada persona que enviï és responsable de l’enviament, i hauria de fer-ne la seva adaptació personal. Si teniu qualsevol dubte, contacteu amb Cartes per la República @CartesxRep via mail [email protected].

Entre totes, tot!

Aquí a sota podeu trobar La Carta.

Dear Mr. Xxxx/ Ms. Xxxx,

My name is xxx. I am particularly concerned about the regression of the Spanish state towards authoritarian attitudes, especially against Catalans. But I am also very concerned for the silence of democratic nations and of those citizens who value democratic values, whom you are expected to represent.

As a European citizen, I would like to point out to the serious democratic deficits and decline of freedoms and human rights in Spain since the people of Catalonia started asking to vote in an auto-determination referendum almost 8 years ago. Regardless of your opinion on Catalonia’s vote for independence, I call your attention to the following: the trial in Madrid to the Catalan members of the Government and grassroots leaders (1), and the fact that Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí have been vetoed by the Spanish Electoral Commission in the European Parliament elections of May 2019 (2).

(1) There are 9 innocent people in preventive custody for more than 14 months possibly facing 177 years in jail for allowing us to vote. They are all accused of rebellion.

This is Democracy in Spain

We have serious misgivings about the impartiality of Spanish Justice system, a cold hard look at the following provides ample cause for concern:

1. The clear lack of impartiality and separation of powers.
2. The accusation parties: is ably assisted by VOX (a Far-right political party).
3.    The humiliation of political prisoners.
4.    Flagrant legal irregularities in the handling of the case from day one.
5.    Exile to preserve Catalan institutions.

With this clear regression of the most basic fundamental rights for these politicians and civil leaders, I make a call to you in order to help us denounce the embarrassing silence of the International community and the mass media when human rights and democratic values are in clear regression in Spain.

(2) The political rights of the three politicians (Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí) are intact. All they have done so far is exercise their basic rights as Spanish citizens, specifically the right to choose their place of residence and to freely enter and leave Spain, as set forth in article 19 of the Spanish Constitution. Article 19 end thus: “This right cannot be restricted for political and ideological reasons.” At the end of 2017, they decided to establish their place of residence in Belgium (Puigdemont and Comín) and Scotland (Ponsatí).

First Judge Lamela and then Judge Llarena issued European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) in order for them to be brought before Spain’s National Court and Supreme Court to answer to the charge of rebellion. All three exercised their right to effective judicial protection, as provided for in article 24 of the Spanish Constitution, which ever since Spain joined the EU provides for access not only to Spanish courts but also to those of other EU Member States. All three appealed against Llarena’s EAW, exercising their right of defence. They have not been in contempt of court. Neither have they fled from justice. They have appeared before the competent judicial authorities in Belgium, Germany and Scotland, whenever required to do so.

So far only German justice has made a decision on the EAW issued by the Spanish investigating judge. It authorized the extradition of Puigdemont in order for him to be tried for the alleged misuse of public funds, but not for alleged rebellion or sedition. As such, Puigdemont could be seated in Spain’s Supreme Court right now if the investigating judge had so wished. He has not fled from Spanish justice, but Spanish justice has fled from German justice, refusing to accept the decision of the High Court of Schleswig-Holstein.

Puigdemont has accepted the authority of European courts. It is the Spanish Supreme Court that is not willing to accept the authority of the courts of other EU Member States when they do not take the decisions that it deems appropriate.

In legal terms, Puigdemont has behaved impeccably by establishing his place of residence in Belgium and appealing against the Spanish judge’s EAW. There is no contempt of court.

For this reason, I find it unacceptable that Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí are not eligible at the European Elections of May 2019.

The only strategy of Spain towards Catalonia has been repression and the judicial way. But we all know that sooner or later the conflict will have to be faced with a sincere and effective dialogue where the two parts sit down to negotiate a binding referendum. The solution will never come from the hand of the judicial repression that the Spanish state is currently applying. If we know that this moment has to come, why not work so that it arrives as soon as possible? Why waste time in sterile performances?

I thank you deeply for the time you have spent reading my letter and I am at your disposal to answer your questions or to send you more information about issues of interest related to the conflict in Catalonia. Please do something to protect my rights as European citizen who wants to have the opportunity of voting for Puigdemont on May 26th.

NOTE: If this issue is not resolved, we will consider challenging or invalidating these elections.

Yours sincerely,

xxxx

Some links to websites that are going to inform of the trial and its legal implications and may be of your interest:

Regarding Puigdemont and the European elections: