Court rejects extreme-right complaint against pro-independence grassroots organisation leader

Barcelona (ACN).- The judge has not accepted the complaint filed by the extreme-right and Spanish nationalist trade union Manos Limpias against Carme Forcadell, President of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the main civil society association supporting independence. On Monday, Catalonia's Supreme Court (TSJC) announced that Barcelona's first-circuit court number 14 does not see evidence or hints pointing towards any offence. Therefore, the Barcelonan court has decided not to launch a judicial investigation and instead rejected the far-right organisation's complaint. On the 21^st of August, Manos Limpias – which has nothing to do with the Italian homonym organisation from the 1990s – announced the complaint against Forcadell, accusing her of promoting "the subversion of the constitutional order" and therefore "provoking sedition". The ANC is a grassroots organisation and it is the main civil society force pushing for independence from Spain. Chaired by Forcardell, this association organised the massive pro-independence demonstrations that took place on Catalonia's National Day in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, it is also behind this year's rally, which plans to form a huge V-shape demonstration in Barcelona, symbolising the V for Vote.

Manos Limpias, which is holds an extreme-right and Spanish nationalist stance, stated in their complaint that the mechanisms of the rule of law "have to provide adequate answers" to situations that are "not only are illegal but illicit", referring to Catalonia's self-determination process. According to them, the political actions carried out by Forcadell and the ANC "do not respect the rules of the democratic game". In addition, they are "organised" and "incite and induct to subvert the constitutional order". Despite the common claim to "the freedom of expression", the far-right organisation underlined that "it has its limitations". Manos Limpias considered  Forcadell's actions as representing a penal offence as, according to them, they "provoked, proposed and conspired towards sedition". In addition, they accused the ANC's President of "illicit association". The jury did not consider that the reported actions could be an offense and thus rejected the complaint.