News

Spain: like a “banana republic”

More emails by judges damage Spain’s international reputation; Madrid says they are 'personal' messages

A second round of insulting messages reveal political hatred by Spanish judges and magistrates of independence on the General Council of the Judiciary’s (CGPJ) internal server. This time, the mails express anger at the decision by the German court not to extradite Carles Puigdemont. According to the newspaper El Mundo, one judge for example, regrets that the Germans “want to impose their jurisprudence concerning violence.” Another from Castile, compares Puigdemont and the proclamation of the Republic with a sexual offence, in the most base manner. Others says German justice treats the matter with condescension: “As if Spain were a banana republic.”

The President of the Generalitat, Quim Torra, insisted yesterday on his call for the resignation of the president of the CGPJ, Carlos Lesmes, for the outrageous mails, which bring judicial independence into doubt.”

Yesterday Torra would not take a call from the Spanish Prime Minister Perdo Sánchez but there were contacts over the matter between both presidential departments. Elsa Atardi rejected Sánchez’s claims that the mails were personal correspondence and central government spokesperson Isabel Celáa’s opinion that as private messages, they could not be dealt with publically. “The government upholds judicial independence. Private chats do not erode the principle of separation of powers,” Celaá said. This refutes a ruling by a court in Catalonia in march ruling mails on Judge Santi Vidal’s professional email account were “not private”.

The president of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia, Jesús María Barrientos, defends the presumed privacy of the chats but is of the opinion that the CGPJ must look into the matter.

Sign in. Sign in if you are already a verified reader. I want to become verified reader. To leave comments on the website you must be a verified reader.
Note: To leave comments on the website you must be a verified reader and accept the conditions of use.