Munté on Homs: "Holding a vote can never be a crime. Democracy is in danger"
Pro-independence leaders attack the case against the former Catalan Minister of the Presidency for having participated in organizing the 9-N vote
This Thursday, two days after the arrest of the CUP councillor for Vic, Joan Coma, accused of sedition by the Public Prosecutor, the Supreme Court has begun its case against the former Minister of the Presidency and currently PDECat’s spokesman in Madrid, Francesc Homs, for having participated in organizing the participatory process on 9 November [2014]. Homs has been charged with disobedience and perverting the course of justice, the same charges for which former president Artur Mas and former ministers Irene Rigau and Joana Ortega are to stand trial this coming February. The Congress of Deputies gave the green light to the Supreme Court’s request on 22 November.
A rapid response to the Supreme Court’s decision.
The Catalan Government’s Spokeswoman and Minister of the Presidency, Neus Munté, came out in defence of Francesc Homs. In a Tweet, she warned that "democracy is in danger". "Holding a vote can never be a crime [...] We are with you, Francesc Homs", she added.
Meanwhile, Jordi Sánchez, President of the ANC, having reviewed the most prominent cases relating to the judicialization of the independence process declared roundly in a Tweet: "The entire Spanish State [is] against Catalonia".
The parliamentary spokesman for CSQP, Joan Coscubiela insisted that "the judicialization of politics not only fails to help, it complicates the search for a solution to the conflict".
The PSC also decried the "judicialization of politics" while adding that "Artur Mas made a mistake by using the consultation law to go ahead with the 9-N vote", according to their parliamentary spokeswoman, Eva Granados. The deputy said she hopes Homs "can defend himself and that he receives a fair trial".
Meanwhile, Ciudadanos’ parliamentary spokesman, Fernando de Páramo welcomed the case against Francesc Homs: "Fortunately, in Spain, everyone is accountable to the law, even a politician". Páramo added that "Mr. Homs, Mrs. Forcadell and company must be brought before the court when they fail to abide by the rules".
In a similar vein, the general coordinator of the PP in Catalonia, Xavier García Albiol, claimed that because Homs had "gone looking for trouble" in order to "play the hero" that the Supreme Court is about to sit him in the dock for those responsible for 9-N. "It shows that neither Homs nor Artur Mas, nor anyone else can do whatever they like in a state governed by the rule of law", he concluded.
