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The bizarre arrest of the former deputy speaker of the Catalan Parliament, Josep Costa - according to his lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, even illegal - after refusing to testify on September 15th in the case against the Bureau of the previous Parliament, has a strong sense of repression about it since, obviously, there were other ways of requiring the presence of the Catalan ex-parliamentarian. In addition, the fact that the Catalan High Court (TSJC) judge leading the case, Maria Eugènia Alegret, decided to take such a surprising action on October 27th, the fourth anniversary of the unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) in the Parliament of Catalonia in 2017, only makes it clear that the the state powers still have the independence movement in their sights.

Obviously, Costa was released a few hours after his arrest and it became clear that the effect of his loss of liberty by court order not only made no sense but had been an outright mistake. Costa is only charged with an offence of disobedience, which is not punishable with imprisonment, and as a result, one wonders what the whole fireworks show put on by the TSJC was all about. It is worth recalling that the case investigated by the TSJC has to do with the holding of a parliamentary debate and the subsequent admission by the Bureau of Parliament of two resolutions, one on the right to self-determination and the other a reproach of the monarchy.

Specifically, the resolutions included expressions such as that the Catalan Parliament "reiterates and will repeat as many times as the deputies want, its disapproval of the monarchy, defence of the right to self-determination and the claim of the sovereignty of the people of Catalonia to decide their political future". Or, that the Catalan legislative chamber "expresses its will to exercise in a tangible way the right to self-determination and to respect the will of the people of Catalonia".

It is no coincidence that the Spanish judiciary is obstructing political activity for its own reasons. In fact, one of the clearest impediments to ordinary political practice in Catalonia is closely tied to the thousands of people who have been persecuted for independence-related matters and still face legal claims. The future of these cases is always uncertain, since until they are definitively closed there is always the possibility that the situation will be reversed. This state of permanent fear affects public activity in Catalonia more than it seems since it acts arbitrarily and without mercy.

Any effort to restore a minimum level of normalcy falls on deaf ears and this will keep happening for years with so many court cases underway. Only an amnesty law could put this question to rest and the Spanish state understands that its strength is based more on the resistance it puts up to a happy ending than on reaching an agreement. That is why all efforts end up being so barren and frustrating. You could even say that Costa's case is only an anecdote, but it reflects a way of operating that Spain has, as relentless in its repression as it is impotent in negotiation.