Magistrate Manuel García-Castellón, the investigating judge in the Tsunami Democràtic case at the National Court, has resumed proceedings following the Catalan elections on Sunday. In an order issued on Monday, the judge summoned eight of the accused to testify via video conference from Barcelona on May 22nd. Among those included in the list is Marta Rovira, the general secretary of ERC (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya), who fled to Switzerland in 2018. Additionally, García-Castellón has issued an international cooperation order to question a ninth accused, Nicola Flavio Giulio Foglia, in Italy. The Tsunami case, which has been ongoing since 2019 and involves a dozen individuals suspected of terrorism-related offenses, investigates the Tsunami Democràtic platform for instigating protests and riots against the Supreme Court’s sentencing of Catalan political leaders in the procés.
The case has been divided into two parts, with the Supreme Court handling the investigation of the two individuals who held immunity—former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, now a member of the European Parliament, and Ruben Wagensberg (ERC), a former member of the Catalan Parliament. The National Court, on the other hand, is proceeding with the remaining ten accused, including Marta Rovira. García-Castellón has accelerated the investigation into this second group of individuals following the post-election period. In his 12-page order, the judge called for the testimony of eight of the accused, including Rovira, Alay, Soler, Vendrell, Molina, Rodríguez, Serra, and Cabani via video conference from Barcelona.
The scheduled hearing on May 22nd will be crucial, but it remains to be seen how many of the summoned individuals will appear before the investigating judge. Three of the Barcelona-based accused currently reside in Switzerland, including Marta Rovira, Jesús Rodríguez, and Oleguer Serra. The Italian banker, Nicola Flavio Giulio Foglia, who is also wanted for questioning, is believed to be in Switzerland as well. In the latest order, García-Castellón has also directed further investigations to clarify the activities organized by Tsunami Democràtic on November 9, 2019, the reflection day before the general elections in Spain. The judge investigates the possible criminal liability of Catalan politicians for failing to stop these protests organized by Tsunami Democràtic.
The judge’s order suggests that the Catalan authorities, led by Quim Torra at the time, may have committed a criminal offense by not preventing the activities organized by Tsunami Democràtic, which were aimed at interfering with the electoral process. The judge believes that Tsunami Democràtic’s actions on November 9th, 2019, were an attempt to subvert the constitutional order by disrupting the electoral process. As per the judge’s order, the Guardia Civil has been tasked with investigating whether the Mossos (Catalan Police) received instructions to not intervene in the unauthorized protests held on that day. García-Castellón’s order highlights the serious nature of the accusations against those involved in the Tsunami case and their alleged role in undermining the democratic process in Catalonia.
