The prosecutor’s office at the National Court has requested that amnesty be applied to the 12 members of the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) of Catalonia who were processed for terrorism-related offenses. This request has led to the suspension of the trial pending and the archiving of the entire procedure. The prosecutor argued that the actions of the CDR were amnestiable as they did not meet the criteria for terrorism under the 2017 European directive, and did not result in serious human rights violations. The prosecutor also emphasized that the CDR did not cause deliberate acts against individuals that would have been excluded from the amnesty.
The prosecution presented accusations against the 12 CDR members in 2023, seeking sentences ranging from 8 to 27 years in prison. The charges included membership in a terrorist organization, possession, storage, and manufacture of explosives, and terrorist acts in attempted form. The CDR’s actions included blocking roads, raising toll barriers, and pouring oil on a road where a prisoner transport convoy was expected to pass. The prosecution claimed that the CDR had planned ambitious tasks such as setting up a “Catalan CNI” to occupy the Catalan Parliament and defend it afterward. The prosecution sought 27-year sentences for eight members and eight years for the remaining four for belonging to a terrorist organization.
The defense of the CDR members has requested the application of amnesty, erasing all records of the events from police files, the return of imposed bail, and the lifting of any precautionary measures against the accused. However, the victims’ associations and Vox have opposed the application of amnesty, arguing that it is incompatible with European law and the Spanish Constitution. They maintain that both terrorism and treason are non-amnestiable offenses in cases involving violence. The judges have been sensitive to criticism of the amnesty law and have emphasized that their concern is whether it violates constitutional norms, not whether it is well or poorly made.
The prosecutor’s decision to request amnesty for the CDR members is in line with similar cases being analyzed by other prosecutors in recent weeks. This approach has also been advocated in cases related to the procés, such as the Tsunami Democràtic, and against Carles Puigdemont and Ruben Wagensberg. The application of amnesty would result in the extinction of the criminal liability of the accused in these cases and the dismissal of the procedures. The prosecutor’s interpretation of the law’s intent regarding acts that do not endanger individuals’ integrity aligns with their commitment to follow the legislative directives.
The defense presented by the prosecutor and the subsequent request for amnesty for the CDR members have sparked controversy with regard to the application of the law in cases involving terrorism-related offenses. The decision to seek the dismissal of charges against the accused based on the interpretation of the law by the prosecutor has raised concerns among victims’ associations and other parties. The outcome of this case will have significant implications for future cases involving similar offenses and the application of amnesty in the Spanish legal system.
