Spain: the UN considers that the rights of the former Catalan separatist leaders have been violated

The former vice-president of the Catalan regional government Oriol Junqueras in January 2020. AFP

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The rights of former Catalan separatist leaders have been violated by Spanish justice.

This was concluded by its UN human rights committee on Wednesday in a report.

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With our correspondent in Barcelona,

The UN agrees with the Catalan separatists: Spain should not have dismissed them from their mandates as regional deputies according to the organization's human rights committee.

In an opinion issued this Wednesday, August 31, the independent experts criticize the decision of the Spanish justice which in 2018 withdrew their mandates from

as well as from three of his former regional ministers while they were only indicted and not yet condemned for the organization of the unilateral Catalan referendum.

In addition, the report denounces the accusation of the offense of rebellion - ultimately not retained during their convictions - which was not based according to them on the " 

 " and concludes that the Spanish justice violated their rights.

The main interested parties, pardoned a year ago, hailed what they describe as a political and moral victory.

And even if this resolution does not imply any direct sanction, the Catalans are hopeful that it sets a precedent and will influence the still-awaited legal decisions of European courts. 

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• Spain

• UN

• Justice