International lawyers express concern over Gonzalo Boye’s prosecution

Judge María Tardón announced yesterday the prosecution of lawyer Gonzalo Boye for an alleged crime of money laundering. Boye, who has always denied the allegations, announced legal measures to find out if the judge had abused authority in his trial.

Today, several international lawyers have released a statement of support to Boye, whom they consider a victim of persecution to defend political dissidents such as exiled president Carles Puigdemont. Therefore, they regret the impact that this situation can have “on the independence and free exercise of our legal profession.”

In this sense, they demand an equitable judicial system independent of any political influence, so that lawyers are protected “from coercion, pressure or even threats, thus ensuring the free exercise of our profession.”

Likewise, the signatories of the manifesto —Aamer Anwar, Paul Bekaert, Simon Bekaert, Ben Emmerson, Nico Krisch, Christophe Marchand and Josep Antoni Silvestre— say that unsecured criminal proceedings, as in the case of Boye, are aimed at promote a campaign to discredit him, but also affect the right of defense of all citizens.

“With this letter, the signatories raise our voices to express our concern with the case of our colleague Gonzalo Boye and we will promote a process of international coordination of lawyers to demand respect for the free exercise of our profession” they conclude.