Katalonien und Selbstbestimmiung - Amnesty International fordert Freilassung von Jordi Cuixart und Jordi Sànchez

Prof. Dr. Axel Schönberger
Deutschland

19. Nov. 2019 —

Am 19. November 2019 hat Amnesty International nach ausführlicher Analyse des in erster und einziger Instanz ergangenen Urteils gegen Jordi Cuixart und Jordi Sànchez deren sofortige Freilassung gefordert:

Amnesty International vertritt die Meinung, daß die langjährigen Haftstrafen wegen «Aufruhr» eine exzessive und unverhältnismäßige Einschränkung ihres Grundrechts auf Meinungsäußerung und friedliche Versammlung darstellen.

«Amnesty International condemns the decision of Spanish authorities to try and convict the members of civil society Jordi Sànchez, President of the Catalan National Assembly, and Jordi Cuixart, President of the Òmnium Cultural, for the crime of sedition because it constitutes an excessive and disproportionate restriction on their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

As private citizens and as presidents of civil society organizations, Spanish authorities have an obligation to guarantee their right to express dissenting opinions regarding the decision of the Constitutional Court that prohibited carrying out the referendum and to organize peaceful assemblies to support the referendum and Catalonian independence, provided they do not use violence or incite violence or discrimination.»

«Conclusions and Recommendations:

Amnesty International believes that the crime of sedition and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of it infringes on the principle of legality and further allows the criminalization of actions related to the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. In the cases of Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, Amnesty International believes that their conviction for the crime of sedition constitutes an excessive and disproportionate restriction of their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Likewise, Amnesty International is concerned about the conviction for the crime of sedition handed down to the former members of the Govern and Parlament because it is based on a broad interpretation of this offence. Further, the organization is concerned about the possible chilling effect that the application and interpretation of the crime of sedition may have on the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. For these reasons, Amnesty International recommends the Spanish authorities to:

• Substantially review the legal definition of the crime of sedition to guarantee that it does not unduly criminalize acts of peaceful civil disobedience or impose disproportionate punishments for actions related to the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

• Ensure that Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart are immediately released and guarantee a process that allows for their conviction on the crime of sedition to be quashed since this is an excessive and disproportionate punishment for actions that resulted from the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

• Ensure that, in the course of eventual legal remedies available to those convicted for the crime of sedition, there is due consideration given to the violation of the principle of legality resulting from a conviction for a crime whose definition and interpretation contravenes international human rights law. In particular, Amnesty International calls on the representatives of the Ministerio Fiscal of the Constitutional Court to, in the exercise of the functions granted to them by law in the ‘amparo’ process, adopt a position that defends and upholds the principle of legality in accordance with international human rights standards.»

(Amnesty International Public Statement, Tuesday 19 November 2019, EUR 41/1393/2019: «SPAIN: ANALYSIS OF THE SUPREME COURT’S RULING IN THE CASE OF CATALAN LEADERS», S. 3-4; 5-6).

Damit schließt sich Amnesty International der von dem zuständigen Gremium der Vereinten Nationen bereits vor Monaten an Spanien ergangenen Aufforderung, die beiden politischen Gefangenen unverzüglich freizulassen, an.