Former parliament speaker’s appeal against sedition conviction rejected

Spain’s Constitutional Court has rejected the appeal of former Parliament speaker Carme Forcadell against her conviction for sedition.

The former president of the Catalan chamber was given a sentence of 11.5 years for facilitating parliamentary debates and votes on independence in the buildup to the 2017 referendum.

She is now expected to appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights, just as her fellow pro-independence leaders Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Cuixart, Josep Rull, and Jordi Turull have done before her.

The decision was not made unanimously, however, as two judges in the Constitutional Court dissented. 

On June 22, the Spanish government granted pardons to Catalan independence leaders jailed for their roles in organizing the 2017 independence push, in order to foster social reconciliation with the Catalan government. The next day, the leaders walked free from their cells. 

The nine politicians and activists spent around 3.5 years behind bars, including a lengthy pre-trial detention. They were found guilty of sedition for leading Catalonia’s referendum push and attempt to declare independence from Spain in the fall of 2017.