UN expert says Spain violated political rights of Catalan officials

Independent human rights experts working with the United Nations say Spain violated their political rights by stripping members of the Catalan government and parliament before any convictions after the region’s illegal independence vote five years ago.

The Human Rights Commission of 18 experts released its findings on Wednesday after four Catalan regional leaders were indicted and sentenced in Spain for their roles in the October 2017 referendum and its volatile aftermath.

Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled the referendum invalid, and four officials, including former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junkras, were indicted on rebellion charges and stripped of government functions.

But two years later, the charges were downgraded to sedition — which did not include the violent element that was part of the sedition offence.

Twelve people were convicted, but only nine were jailed. The nine were pardoned in 2021 but remain barred from public office.
The decision was celebrated on Wednesday by two pro-Catalan independence parties to which most of the 12 parties belong.

Spain “must cease its repressive policies and must not continue to use legal and criminal procedures to counter peaceful demands for the right to self-determination,” the Catalan left-wing party and the Catalan Republican Party said in a joint statement.

There was no immediate reaction from the Spanish government.

Spain said the self-determination referendum violated the country’s constitution.

Working with the UN Human Rights Office, the committee works to help ensure that the 173 countries that have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including Spain, comply with and uphold its requirements.