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The Government may continue granting pardons while the state of alarm lasts. This executive privilege will be maintained during the coronavirus crisis because, they understand from the Ministry of Justice , that it is a matter of "general interest". The Government thus enables an exception in the suspension of all administrative deadlines imposed by the decree by which the state of alarm was decreed in Spain.

The Ministry of Justice has issued a resolution, published by the BOE, by means of which the "resumption of the procedure to request and grant the Grace of Pardon" is agreed. An exception that occurs at the gates of Easter, a date on which it is common for the Government to make use of this practice. Many of these requests are transferred by the brotherhoods .

During Easter 2019, the Government granted six pardons. Four men and two women were convicted of theft, robbery, drug trafficking and against public health.

The text signed by the Undersecretary of Justice, José Miguel Bueno Sánchez , indicates that "the processing of these procedures is considered essential to give an adequate response to the citizens who urge them, avoiding the damages that could be incurred by the suspension determined by the state alarm. " And as for the pardon case, he states that "the general interest in attendance is the same that constitutes the basis of its exceptional nature."

From Justice argue this exception in the fact that the Administration is empowered to agree motivated the continuation of those "administrative procedures that are essential for the protection of the general interest."

Government sources consulted by this newspaper explain that an exception has been imposed on pardons because every Tuesday the Council of Ministers "goes around the 80 unfavorable pardons" and that allowing its processing "allows the Ministry to continue providing a service of the same of those who are not affected by the decree of the state of alarm. In this way, it is normal to respond to those who have exercised a legitimate right such as that of urging the right of grace. "

From the Executive insist that it is an administrative procedure that does not require any presence and does not generate risk of spreading the virus.

On March 13, the Ministry of Justice, the General Council of the Judiciary and the State Attorney General's Office designed a joint plan to paralyze judicial activity in the country in the face of the imminent declaration of the state of alarm. The latter envisaged maintaining only the celebration of minimum services similar to the strike days, such as actions with causes with prisoners or detainees, guard services in matters of gender violence or urgent actions in the field of prison surveillance.

Since January 1, 2020, the Government has approved 10 pardons, including that of a former PSOE mayor who falsified a report so that his mother could put windows in the house, according to data from Europa Press.

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