UN expert urges Spain to give up rebellion charges

A United Nations legal expert has urged Spain to avoid charging political figures in Catalonia with the crime of rebellion. Law professor David Kaye, who is the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, on Friday issued a statement saying: “Prosecutions for ‘rebellion’ that could lead to lengthy jail sentences raise serious risks of deterring wholly legitimate speech, even if it is controversial and discomfiting.” In Spain the charge of rebellion carries a jail sentence of up to 30 years.

The expert’s warning comes a day after a court in Germany decided not to extradite deposed Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to Spain for the crime of rebellion. Yet, Puigdemont is only one Catalan official that Spain’s Supreme Court has charged with the offense. A number of ministers in Puigdemont’s former cabinet are also to be tried for rebellion, including jailed vice president, Oriol Junqueras. The same goes for the former Catalan parliament speaker Carme Forcadell, as well as activist and likely presidential candidate, Jordi Sànchez, both of whom are also being held in custody while awaiting trial.

“I am concerned that charges of rebellion for acts that do not involve violence or incitement to violence may interfere with rights of public protest and dissent,” said the Special Rapporteur. In fact, the German court rejected Puigdemont’s extradition for rebellion precisely because there was no element of violence in his case.

It is not the first time that the UN has expressed public concern over the treatment of Catalan officials. Last month its Human Rights Committee called on the Spanish authorities to respect the “political rights” of Sànchez, who was refused permission by the Supreme Court to attend the Catalan parliament to be sworn in as president. “I am hopeful that Spain will deploy its democratic institutions to foster space for debate, and find creative tools of dialogue and reconciliation to deal with the current political situation,” Kaye concluded.