Òmnium accuses Spain of taking democracy to trail

Barcelona, November 2, 2018 – Òmnium Cultural accuses Spain of starting a trial against democracy. The indictments presented by the Spanish public prosecutor and Spain’s solicitor general this Friday are an unprecedented attack on the rights and freedoms. Spanish public prosecutor demands a 17-years prison sentence for the president of the cultural organization Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart, accused of an inexistent rebellion. In total, the petition of sentences for the Catalan leaders is of 214 years. On the other hand,  Spain’s solicitor general asks for 8 years in prison for Cuixart, in this case, accused of sedition.

Spain’s role in this matter is another example of how the rule of law is vanishing. “Does anyone really think that 17 years in prison will make us give up our social and national objectives, rights, and freedoms, then they do not know Òmnium Cultural nor the Catalan society,” says Jordi Cuixart from prison reaffirming that “the attitude of the trial is not to defend ourselves, but to accuse Spain of violating our fundamental rights.”

Òmnium Cultural insists that the only objective of Spain’s legal process against the Catalan movement is to silence those who question the status quo. Therefore, the case against the Catalan sovereignty process, and particularly the case against a cultural activist as Jordi Cuixart, is an attack on all Spanish citizens’ fundamental rights.

At this point, Òmnium Cultural regrets that the Spanish government under Pedro Sánchez has not been able to find a political solution to this political problem and it accuses Pedro Sánchez of washing his hands off regarding the Spanish state’s operation promoted by Spain’s former president Mariano Rajoy’s government and the far-right wing.

Òmnium Cultural does not doubt that the disproportionate interpretation of the law that the accusation parts have made will be displayed during the trial and so will the fact that there was never any violence or rebellion. Both Cuixart’s defense and the organization agree to call the procedure a farce and they point out that the public prosecutor and the court are incapable of judging the case with the impartiality the rule of law demands.

Consequently, Òmnium Cultural will not renounce any peaceful and democratic way of exercising the right to self-determination. In this sense, the entity reiterates that the process against the Catalan leaders and their people is a trial against democracy; against fundamental rights and freedoms.

A peaceful and democratic response from the citizens

Before the accusation of the Spanish public prosecutor and Spain’s solicitor general, Òmnium Cultural appeals to a majority response from society. The organization ensures that the commitment of 80% of the Catalans in favor of defending the right of self-determination and the freedom of the political prisoners must be reaffirmed.