Spain’s Supreme Court in Madrid has applied the amnesty law to the embezzlement convictions of former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras and former ministers Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull and Dolors Bassa, according to a ruling reported on 20th October.
The decision removes the four politicians’ disqualification from public office in connection with those convictions. For Catalan voters and the parties involved, ERC and Junts, the immediate consequence is that Junqueras, Turull, Bassa and Romeva are no longer barred from holding public office on the basis of the embezzlement offences covered by this ruling.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Chamber, which heard the trial arising from the Catalan independence process, acted after the Constitutional Court ordered it to apply the amnesty. The four had been convicted of embezzlement, meaning the unlawful use of public funds, in relation to events surrounding the 2017 independence referendum.
Constitutional Court order led to new ruling
The Constitutional Court had annulled the Supreme Court orders that previously rejected amnesty for Dolors Bassa and instructed the court to issue a new decision. Its ruling also affected people convicted for the same facts, including Junqueras, Romeva and Turull.
Turull is the secretary general of Junts, while Junqueras is a former Catalan vice-president and leader of ERC. Bassa and Romeva both served as ministers in the former Catalan government.
The amnesty law entered into force two years ago. The Supreme Court had previously declined to apply it to the embezzlement convictions, but the Constitutional Court endorsed its application after considering appeals lodged by Turull and Bassa.
The earlier Constitutional Court proceedings focused on whether the amnesty could cover embezzlement linked to the independence process. A Court of Justice of the European Union ruling had ruled out one ground used by the Supreme Court, concerning potential harm to the European Union’s financial interests, according to reporting on the Constitutional Court proceedings.
Supreme Court criticises Constitutional Court reasoning
In its ruling, the Criminal Chamber criticised the Constitutional Court’s approach, despite complying with its order.
The Supreme Court said the Constitutional Court’s reasoning showed “unnecessary grandiloquence” and a wish to embellish arguments that entered the Supreme Court’s own judicial sphere.
The decision concerns the four leaders who were tried and convicted. Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, along with former ministers Toni Comín and Lluís Puig, were not tried because they had left Spain and remain in a different legal position.
The Constitutional Court had said its reasoning on Turull and Bassa could be extended to other people affected by the same case. Any further decision concerning Puigdemont, Comín or Puig would require separate action by the Supreme Court.
For Junqueras, Romeva, Turull and Bassa, the Supreme Court ruling closes the proceedings over the embezzlement convictions covered by the amnesty and lifts the associated ban on holding public office.
Reported by europapress.es, El Constitucional, elconstitucional.es, Martí Odriozola i Marcé, democrata.es, Catalan News, Melchor Sáiz-Pardo, elpais.com, elespanol.com, elmundo.es, Europa Press Barcelona.
