03/26/2018

Puigdemont can not expect a fair trial in Spain

The circumstances of his arrest must be clarified (Press Release)

This conflict can not be resolved by a politically biased judiciary in Spain, but has to be solved politically – preferably mediated by the European Union. Photo: Beverly Yuen Thompson via Flickr

Following yesterday’s arrest of the former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont at the German-Danish border, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) demands the politician to be released immediately so that he can travel to Belgium safely. If the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA) had actively cooperated with the Spanish secret service in the run-up to the arrest, this would have to be seen as a political scandal. “We demand details about how the arrest came about – and an explanation why he was arrested shortly after he crossed the German-Danish border, instead of in Denmark or Finland,” the Göttingen-based human rights organization stated.

“If he were to be extradited, this would most probably lead to a conviction – and Puigdemont is facing up to 25 years in prison for alleged rebellion. In this volatile situation, and given the politicized justice system in Spain, he can’t expect a fair trial.”

“We expressly support the Südschleswigscher Wählerverband (SSW), the party of the Danish minority in Germany, in its appeal to German Chancellor Angela Merkel – in which, following the arrest in Schleswig-Holstein, the association asked the Chancellor to mediate between Spain and Catalonia.

The fact that warning shots were fired during a demonstration in Barcelona yesterday – in which the protesters demanded the release of Catalan political prisoners in Spain and Europe – shows how tense the situation is. This conflict can not be resolved by a politically biased judiciary in Spain, but has to be solved politically – preferably mediated by the European Union.

Header Photo: Beverly Yuen Thompson via Flickr