Supreme Court prosecutor opposes investigating Puigdemont for terrorism

The Supreme Court prosecutor opposes investigating former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont for terrorism as part of the Tsunami Democràtic case.

Álvaro Redondo has offered this opinion in response to the National Court judge, Manuel García-Castellón, elevating the case to the Supreme Court.

However, this is not a definitive position of the prosecution, as Redondo's report still has to go through the board of prosecutors.

The position of the Supreme Court prosecutor is the same as that of the National Court, which has reiterated on several occasions that it in against investigating Puigdemont, Esquerra Republicana general secretary Marta Rovira, and the rest of the defendants involved in the case, for the crime of terrorism.

Spanish prosecutor criticizes 'lack of arguments' 

Last week, the Spanish prosecutor in the Tsunami Democràtic case criticized the judge's "lack of arguments" in accusing former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont of terrorism.

Judge Manuel García-Castellón is investigating Puigdemont, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) general secretary Marta Rovira, and ten other people for terrorism over their links to the protest group. 

Tsunami Democràtic organized protests in 2019 after the imprisonment of pro-independence leaders who organized the 2017 referendum. Actions included the blockade of the AP-7 highway near France and the attempt to shut down Barcelona Airport. 

The prosecutor in the case has criticized the judge on several occasions. In a written statement, the prosecution called the judge's decision to request the Supreme Court to retain the case "completely unjustified and unmotivated." 

The prosecutor also accuses García-Castellón of using "artificial delays" to prolong the processing of the prosecution's appeal against the judge's decision ordering the investigation of Puigdemont, Marta Rovira, and nine others on terrorism charges.  

Tsunami Democràtic shapes amnesty bill 

The case of Tsunami Democràtic has gained attention in recent weeks with the approval of the amnesty law, which aims to pardon those involved in the Catalan independence movement. 

Catalan pro-independence Junts wants to modify the draft law to ensure that those accused in the protests of Tsunami Democràtic and the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), and in the Volhov case, are protected by the law. 

To do so, they say, the law must remove any reference to terrorism as an exception to its application. But the Socialists are concerned that if they do, the law could get stuck in Spain's Constitutional Court and even be declared unconstitutional. 

After being rejected in the Spanish Congress on Tuesday, the bill will now be renegotiated between Junts and Socialists in the Justice Committee, with the Socialists hoping to bring it back to Congress in two or three weeks.