UN Rapporteurs demand Spain to stop persecuting ERC

Special Rapporteurs on on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, freedom of expression and opinion, on the independence of judges and lawyers, on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and the Vice-president of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention make a series of demands to the Spanish government. They demand information on the measures taken to put an end to the persecution and stigmatization of members of ERC, and measures taken to guarantee a due process. In addition, they also ask for information on the allegations that Junqueras and Romeva were subjected to a “softer” prison regime, that was offered to them in case of repentance. In addition to ERC members, the report also includes the case of Pol Serena, sentenced for his participation in a protest against the conviction of the 1 October Catalan independence referendum leaders. On 4 April, Spain replies to the letter and assures that the ‘political situation in Catalonia does not represent at the moment a challenge for the rule of law thanks to the obvious improvement of the political and institutional situation’.