Two Catalan activist leaders ready to appeal European Court of Human Rights

  • Spanish Constitutional Court turns down release of Cuixart and Sànchez, opening way for them to take case to Strasbourg

VilaWeb
VilaWeb / Catalan News Agency
01.03.2019 - 08:56
Actualització: 01.03.2019 - 09:56

Spain’s Constitutional Court on Thursday turned down appeals for release by two activist leaders currently on trial in the Supreme Court for their part in the 2017 independence bid.  Jordi Cuixart, the head of Òmnium Cultural, and Jordi Sànchez, now an MP but at the time head of the Catalan National Assembly, have been in custody since October 16, 2017.

The court’s ruling is significant, as it means both defendants can now appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, having exhausted all legal avenues in Spain. Cuixart and Sànchez made their appeals on the grounds that their pre-trial imprisonment since 2017 is an infringement of their fundamental rights.

Cuixart and Sànchez are charged with rebellion for leading protests against raids on Catalan government buildings by Spanish police on September 20, 2017. Both leaders testified in the Supreme Court last week, with Cuixart defending “the right to protest” and Sànchez insisting that the independence court case is a “political trial.”

Us proposem un tracte just

Esperàveu topar, com fan tants diaris, amb un mur de pagament que no us deixés llegir aquest article? No és l’estil de VilaWeb.

La nostra missió és ajudar a crear una societat més informada i per això tota la nostra informació ha de ser accessible a tothom.

Això té una contrapartida, que és que necessitem que els lectors ens ajudeu fent-vos-en subscriptors.

Si us en feu, els vostres diners els transformarem en articles, dossiers, opinions, reportatges o entrevistes i aconseguirem que siguin a l’abast de tothom.

I tots hi sortirem guanyant.

per 6€ al mes

Si no pots, o no vols, fer-te'n subscriptor, ara també ens pots ajudar fent una donació única.

Si ets subscriptor de VilaWeb no hauries de veure ni aquest anunci ni cap. T’expliquem com fer-ho

Recomanem