On Friday 3 November, the Greens/EFA at the European Parliament called on the Spanish judicial authorities to release the nine men and women Catalan politicians imprisoned on 2 November, calling their arrest ‘inappropriate.’
These provisional arrests will only lead to deterioration in the political conflict between the central government headed by Mariano Rajoy and the separatist parties, said Germany’s Ska Keller and Belgium’s Philippe Lamberts, the co-chairs of the Greens/EFA. They described the silence of the European institutions as ‘astounding,’ adding that ‘the rule of law, as a foundation of the European Union has to be respected in all member states.’
On Friday, one of the imprisoned Catalan councillors imprisoned on Thursday, Santi Vila, was released after paying €50,000 in bail.
The European Commission refuses to comment on the arrests and detentions of separatist leaders, saying that this is a domestic Spanish mater. Since the beginning of the crisis, it has said that the Spanish constitutional order must be respected, which is also the line taken by the central government, which refuses to explicitly condemn any potential violations of fundamental rights and the rule of law (see EUROPE 11893).
Still in Brussels despite the issuing of a European arrest warrant against him on Thursday (which is due to be followed by a request for extradition), former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont criticised the arrest of his allies and condemned Madrid’s ‘political violence, imprisonments and repression,’ demanding their release. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)