Parliamentary immunity does not lead to ‘impunity’, warns Spanish prosecutors Office

The Spanish Prosecutors Office has warned Puigdemont and his ministers that parliamentary immunity does not prevent MPs from being sent to prison. The judiciary body issued an statement, in which argues that the MPs enjoying parliamentary immunity cannot be arrested, but they can be imprisoned.

The statement comes after pro-independence Together for Catalonia (JxCAT) group said that they were studying the "political and judicial" implications of any "immunity" that MPs may have. According to the Catalan Statute, MPs in the chamber "enjoy immunity" and cannot be arrested if they do not “commit a flagrant crime”. The Together for Catalonia MPs argued that all MPs, including those who are in Brussels, as well as those who are in prison, enjoy this “immunity”. 

According to the Spanish Prosecutors Office, current Spanish legislation “does not protect the fraudulent use of the legal system”. In addition, the judiciary body highlighted that it is “unacceptable that the parliamentary immunity leads to impunity.”    

JxCat urged Parliament president to “protect” all MPs’ rights

In the traditional round of talks to discuss who has the most support to become the next president, two Together for Catalonia leaders urged the Parliament president to “protect” the rights of all MPs in Parliament. Elsa Artadi and Eduard Pujol stated that all MPs should be “treated” the same way and that they should have the “same rights”, referring to those MPs who are in Belgium, including Together for Catalonia’s candidate, and those in prison.