The Supreme Court refused to reopen the Democratic tsunami case against the former president of Catalonia Carles Puigdemontwho was among those investigated in this case.
In a resolution dated this Wednesday, the judge Suzanne Poloin charge of the branch of the case left in the hands of the High Court, categorically dismisses it, thus ignoring the demands of several popular accusations.
Among them, the party Voice and the association of victims of terrorism Dignity and justice. In this case, the violent riots organized by the pro-independence platform that gave it its name: Tsunami Democràtic. In fact, two police officers seriously injured during these events had also requested its reopening.
Initially, since its opening at the end of 2019, the investigating judge of the case was Manuel Garcia-Castellonof the National Court. Now, in February 2024, a part — the one that affects Puigdemont — was referred to the Supreme Court, due to the capacity of the former presidentwho is a member of the European Parliament.
The politician had only been under investigation a few months earlier. Specifically, until November 6, 2023, when this will be reflected in a car signed by García-Castellón, which accuses him of the crime of terrorism.
But the deal fell through last July because the instructor had extended the investigation until 2021 after the deadline, for just 24 hours. And, as the law provides, everything that happens after this error is invalidated. In fact, among these subsequent procedures were the summoning of Puigdemont as an investigator and the preparation of the report of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Civil Guard who provided evidence against the former president and other independence leaders, who never testified before García-Castellón.
This is what Polo now underlines in his order: “The setting of a deadline (…) for completing the procedures in the investigation phase is a limit which must be respected in the exercise of the jurisdictional function, and There is no room to correct this limit which is insurmountable“.
Susana Polo, Supreme Court Justice.
“The exceeding and exceeding of the deadline without extension agreed therein notes the nullity of the procedure performed and [de] everything that derives from it; there is no possible correction to a procedure that was not valid at the outset,” he adds. In other words, García-Castellón’s error brings the case to the file.
Now, it is worth remembering that Tsunami case This was one of the legal cases that the Government and Puigdemont took into account when designing, to benefit him ad hocTHE Amnesty Lawdecides that the former president intended to be used to file the application.
But it was not necessary: the Criminal Chamber of the National Court, the court hierarchically superior to Judge García-Castellón, ruled in favor of those investigated in the case and invalidated the proceedings after July 29, 2021.
Reopen the file
Despite this, Dignidad y Justicia, Vox and the two police officers tried to reverse this decision and ask the Supreme Court to reopen the case against Puigdemont. They alleged that investigations had been carried out before that date in 2021 and had provided evidence against the people being investigated; whose interrogations were the only thing left to hold and that they would be feasible once the investigation period expired.
The Supreme Court overturns this thesis.”“Resources cannot thrive,” Polo says. “AND“At a date prior to July 29, 2021 (…) no investigation was conducted into the determining cause of the participation of the persons charged in the events of which they are accused”, warns.
“This is clear from the file. [del caso] dictated by the instructor of the Central Court [de Instrucción número 6]without the applicants, despite having indicated the contrary on several occasions, carrying out a specific analysis of the investigation procedure which they consider sufficient to maintain an accusation against the accused here”, concludes the judge.
“There is no record of any action taken in this matter concerning [la existencia de] “The investigation procedures determining the participation of the persons under investigation in the events with which they are accused were adopted before July 29, 2021, so the continuation of the procedure is not appropriate,” he concludes.
