The trial of Catalan politicians and community leaders that finished in Madrid this week has revealed how far the deeply political nature of Spain’s legal system can be pushed to dangerous extremes.
One of the most chilling features of this trial is that the far-right VOX party are inside the court and are formally part of the prosecution. Indeed, VOX stands shoulder to shoulder with the Spanish public prosecutor. This is the result of a unique Spanish legal procedure which allows for a ‘popular prosecutor’ to lay charges. The political significance of this for understanding the trial cannot be under-estimated. As defence lawyer Benet Salellas has pointed out, VOX made exactly the same argument – word for word – as the Spanish state prosecutor. The only difference is that VOX have argued that the Catalan politicians are part of a criminal organization (the democratically elected Catalan government and civil society organisations) and on the basis called for 74 year sentences, in comparison with the 7-25 year sentences called for by the public prosecutor.
Salellas’ client, Jordi Cuixart, the President of Òmnium Cultural, imprisoned for sedition and rebellion for organizing a peaceful demonstration, summed up the problem of this trial in his closing statement to the court on Wednesday. “The problem is not civil disobedience, the problem we are facing now is civil obedience…the obedience that allows democrats to be accused by the extreme-right wing in collusion with a Spanish PSOE Government; the far-right, fascists who are accusing us, the democrats, because we are defending basic values that we all share.”
