Magistrate accepts the appeal of an activist from Bilbao against the fine of the Moorish Law
- The Moorish Law was applied in a concentration against the Moorish Law to the bilbaite activist Eduardo González. After the appeals against the fine, it was made available to the courts on 12 December. The magistrate approves the appeal presented by González, who has refused to be investigated.
On March 17, 2018, the Ertzaintza applied the Moorish Law to Eduardo González, a member of Sare Antifaxista and the Platform against Citizen Criminalization. While a concentration was being held in the Circular Plaza of Bilbao against the Moorish Law, a van from the Ertzaintza drove through the place and, in a stroke of a steering wheel, entered the plaza. Being responsible for legalizing the concentration, they identified González, who was sentenced with a six-month fine. During the concentration the motto "I would be ashamed of being a policeman" has been pronounced, which is why the Ertzaintza has imposed a fine.
The Ertzainas, for their part, told the attendees who had attended the concentration to resort to the fine if they did not like the way they did it. They have done so, and after bringing an action after another, a trial was held on 12 December at the Bilbao Dispute Tribunal. In a ruling issued on Wednesday, 18 December, the judge issued a judgment against the fine and considered the arguments put forward by González and his lawyer admissible.
Both González and his lawyer stated that the Ertzaintza has not been able to demonstrate that these slogans were launched in their entirety and that they have not been "hostile" to any particular agent. Furthermore, they stressed that the offensive character of these slogans is very low and that they are strongly protected by freedom of expression.
In the face of the ruling, the Platform against Citizen Criminalization has been satisfied, considering that it benefits both its partner and freedom of expression. However, they have shown their concern because they understand that if González had not decided to reach the Administrative Dispute Tribunal and had not had the appropriate protection and legal advice of the platform, it could have been very different. “Because this fact highlights what we have been denouncing since the entry into force of the Citizen Security Act – the Mordaza Law – which causes social disprotection and gives the police excessive power; that a police officer is not able to understand that he is to protect, not to punish freedom of expression,” the platform said.
The Platform Against Citizen Criminalization has reiterated in its letter that it has called for the repeal of the Mordaza Law and its non-application – “as it was approved in its day in the Basque Parliament”. In addition, they have appealed to the citizens to continue to use their freedom of protest and expression in the Basque Country.
Nine years ago, pending the adoption of the Mordaza Law, the Council of Europe itself said that the law was going to be “disproportionate” and its “great concern”. “This law is a reactionary and conservative absurdity to criminalize street protest and criticism,”... [+]
