The progressive block of the Constitutional Court (TC) stopped the draft sentence that proposed to support the appeal of the deputies of the PP against the decision of the former president of the Congress, Meritxell Batet, who chose not to ask the Government for the complete files on pardons. given to nine pro-independence politicians. Among them is the former Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras and other leaders of the “procés” who were convicted of the crimes of sedition and extortion and who benefited from this measure of grace, which can only be granted by the Executive.
The plenary session showed its disapproval of the presentation proposed by the conservative magistrate Ricardo EnrÃquez. It raised the need to provide protection to the parliament of the people, who in the argument of the appeal mentioned the right of representatives to information and the duty that the bodies of the Lower House should preserve it.
Once the judges considered progressive expressed their disagreement with the text, EnrÃquez would have agreed to prepare a new presentation in which the appeal of the PP was rejected and Batet’s refusal was endorsed. It is expected that this second draft will be studied in the next plenary sessions, according to Ep.
The matter was brought to the Constitutional Court after the deputies of the popular bloc presented a request for a report to the Ministry of Justice and the Presidency of the Government before the Congress Board in June 2021 so that all reports and documents which consists of the files can be collected. of politicians pardoned by the council of ministers.
However, Batet directly refused to comply with this request. Faced with this decision, the spokesperson of the Popular Party in the Lower House, Cuca Gamarra and his colleagues decided to present the appeal to the TC because they understood that their rights as parliamentarians were violated, by blocking access to complete information.
In addition, alternatives are sought to have details behind the pardons. Another method opened to access the complete files of the politicians who benefited from this measure is the one initiated by the deputy of the Mixed Group Pablo Carbonero, who presented a request in which he urged the Executive to inform Congress the entire documents. .. But this initiative also met with the refusal of the Government.
In his answer, he explained that he could not make public or provide access to the complete documentation of the pardons because the leaders of the “procés” did not give their express consent, as required by the Personal Data Protection Law . He also justified his decision within the deadlines set by the Spanish Historical Heritage Law, which establishes that documents containing personal data that may affect the safety of people cannot be made public without the express consent of those affected, or if at least 25 years have passed since his death or, finally, after 50 years from the date stated in the documents.
