Former Prime Minister José María Aznar proved this week to be a battering ram against the amnesty for independents. Junts and ERC intend to negotiate with the PSOE Taste buds of legal proceedings in exchange for possible support for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez. If the measure goes ahead, it would affect 1,432 sovereigntists who are being prosecuted. That’s eleven people fewer than the 1,443 convicts Aznar’s executive pardoned in a single day.
Amnesty, a political path to resolving state conflicts that causes debate and doubt among lawyers
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It was December 1, 2000. The executive branch led by Aznar, whose justice minister was Ángel Acebes, approved the largest pardon since the restoration of democracy, even though the 1978 constitution expressly prohibits general pardons.
As Acebes explained at the time, the large number of pardons granted in a single day was a response to the Vatican’s general call for gestures of reintegration to coincide with the celebration of the anniversary year. Facing criticism from left-wing parties, the executive defended that it had used “objective” criteria when granting all pardons, excluding those convicted of terrorism, organized crime or sexual crimes.
Among those who benefited from the pardon, which can be seen in the State Gazette of the time (BOE), is Judge Javier Gómez de Liaño, who was excluded from the race due to the Sogecable case. Also three former socialist officials convicted of irregular financing in the Filesa case: Carlos Navarro, Luis Oliveró and Alberto Flores.
The rest of those pardoned were people convicted of a variety of crimes: against road safety, assault, theft, falsification of public and commercial documents or against public health. There was forgiveness not only for punishments for common crimes, but also for cases of social importance, such as the 460 insumisos of the “military” or the case of María Teresa de Jesús Moreno, known as “La Tani”, who was convicted of the shooting of her man was convicted. who had abused her for decades.
Together, the two Aznar governments granted 5,948 pardons in eight years – four more than the executives of Felipe González, who served six more years. During the two terms of office of José Luís Rodríguez Zapatero, the number fell to 3,381 pardons, while the Rajoy government reduced it to 898, as can be seen on the Civio portal.
The fact that he is the government president who has granted the most pardons has not stopped Aznar from attacking the amnesty. “It is an act against the transition, the constitution and the foundations of Spain,” he said in an interview at COPE this Thursday.
According to the former president, a possible amnesty is sought “not only to exonerate and purge coup plotters, people who have been tried and convicted for carrying out a coup or who are on the run for carrying out a coup.” .” It should be remembered that the former city councilors were convicted not of rebellion, a crime against the constitutional order, but of sedition, a crime against public order.
Amnesty and general pardons
The massive granting of pardons in 2000 sparked criticism of the Aznar government for the politicization of the judiciary, but was ultimately understood as a further, albeit very broad, expression of the executive branch’s power to grant pardons, despite the constitutional ban on pardons Pardons. Generally . The PSOE did not appeal against any of the pardons granted by the PP in one day, unlike what the Conservatives did with the litigators’ pardons and which the Supreme Court has refused to overturn.
More than 20 years later, the PP, now in opposition, is already preparing a reaction on the streets and in the courts against an amnesty that has not been approved and whose negotiations are still at a very early stage.
The constitutional ban on general pardons is the reason why several lawyers believe the amnesty is unconstitutional. However, other experts believe that amnesty is well within the limits of the Constitution, as it is a measure that must be approved by Parliament and is subject to different procedures than those of pardon, which is the exclusive responsibility of the government.
So far, Òmnium Cultural is the only organization that advocates for independence and has carried out its own count of “retaliators” who would at least be affected by the amnesty. There are 1,432 people, although more than half (880) are not facing prison sentences but are activists who are subject to administrative penalties during protests under the “gag law”. Another 35 are former government officials who are facing charges before the Court of Auditors and face millions of dollars in fines.
Of the 552 sovereignists affected by criminal proceedings, 113 have already been convicted, including former city councilors and several young people for rioting during demonstrations. According to Òmnium’s calculations, to date, another 17 people are awaiting sentencing and another 387 are under investigation or prosecuted and awaiting trial, like the majority of high-ranking officials indicted by the organization of the October 1, 2017 referendum. A total of eleven “amnesty-eligible” people. less than the people Aznar pardoned in one day.
