Carles Puigdemont's Belgian lawyer Paul Bekaert believes that the Spanish case against the leaders of the Catalan independence process could end up being declared invalid, if the recently-announced Belgian civil case against Supreme Court justice Pablo Llarena rules against the Spanish judge. Bekaert made the assertion on Saturday, on Catalan public television's programme FAQS.
(Videos dubbed in Catalan over original French dialogue)
Translation: “In a case like this, the Belgian courts would say that the legal process is invalidated because the rights of the defence have not been respected and the judge is not independent” - Paul Bekaert
Bekaert explained that the civil complaint made by the exiled Catalan ministers against Spanish judge Llarena, accusing him of political persecution in his conduct of their case, has been presented in Belgium because the defence team believes that in that country there is genuine "separation of powers" and thus "an independent court" would be assured, whereas sufficient separation did not exist between the three branches of government in Spain, he said. This could be seen, said the lawyer, in some of Spain's Supreme Court and Constitutional Court sentences, where he had seen sentences "unimaginable in Belgium".
“We are presenting the civil case against Llarena in Belgium because we have a lot of confidence in Belgian justice” - Paul Bekaert
Bekaert also commented that Supreme Court judge Llarena could be found guilty in his absence if he fails to appear at the Belgian court on 4th September. In terms of the court's process, it will be Llarena who has to present his defence to the Belgian court, and following that, the lawyers of the exiled ministers will have a right of reply.
In relation to the presumption of innocence in Spain, Puigdemont's lawyer stated that he "does not believe that the presumption of innocence is maintained until the verdict is given" and he said that what is occurring is not a fair judicial process, since it mixes "political and criminal questions". This, in fact, is another of the reasons for the presentation of the civil case against Llarena. "A lawyer has to do everything possible" to defend their client, and this could "include taking the judge the court", added Bekaert.
“In Belgium, it is a crime to place a geolocation device on a car” - Paul Bekaert
The Belgian lawyer also declared how he had been surprised about the violations of human rights in Spain in relation to the judicial process for the independence referendum, given that "members of parliament have been imprisoned, not respecting their parliamentary immunity and politics has been criminalized".
Bekaert also had words to say about Carles Puigdemont's exile, giving the view that it was a "very wise decision" to go to Brussels, since from prison "nothing" could be done. He also confirmed that in Belgium it was illegal to attach a geolocation device to a car without authorisation - an action carried out by Spanish intelligence agents on the Catalan president's vehicle.
Finally, the lawyer also spoke about the freedom of expression and the exile of Mallorcan rapper Valtonyc. Bekaert asserted that freedom of expression is limited in Spain, and said that this was shown by the fact that Spain has 13 artists in exile or in prison - more than any other country in the world. He considered that Valtonyc had the right to leave the country since he was being persecuted for his opinions.