Judges supporting Catalonia’s self-determination denounce disclosure of their personal profiles

Barcelona (ACN).- The 33 judges who signed the manifesto in favour of Catalonia’s right to self-determination, stating that it “is a nation without discussion”, and therefore has “full sovereignty to decide on its own future”, have filed a complaint after photos of their personal profiles were published in a Madrid-based newspaper on Monday. The complaint was filed for revealing personal information, arguing that such pictures can only have been accessed from computers used by the Spanish Police or the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs. Therefore, the judges have asked to open an investigation to find out who divulged such confidential information. In their manifesto, the judges, some of them former members of the body governing judicial power in Spain (CGPJ), stated that the Catalan people’s right to decide on its relationship with the rest of Spain fitted into the current constitutional framework and was in line with international law. It was the first time that Spanish State civil servants made such a clear statement in favour of Catalonia’s right to self-determination.

Spanish newspaper La Razón has published on Monday the pictures of the 33 judges who signed the manifesto, 29 of which were photos of their official ID cards. The judges recalled that other judges do not have direct access to such a database and that only police officers from the Spanish Police Corps or the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs have access to these pictures and thus could have divulged such information.

The right to self-determination is within the Constitutionals frame

Earlier this February, the 33 judges had signed a manifesto in favour of Catalonia’s right to self-determination. According to these law experts, such a right is not mentioned within the Spanish Constitution and, therefore, it is to be interpreted according to international legislation and from a “lively and dynamic perspective, not a sacrosanct one”. They concluded that the Catalan people’s right to decide on its relationship with the rest of Spain was in accordance with the current constitutional framework and also in line with international law.

Besides, the Extreme-right organisation Manos Limpias – which also filed a complaint against the Catalan President for “sedition and rebellion” – is urging for measures to be taken against these judges.