This Charade is Over

Which charade am I talking about?

Well, the one put in place by Madrid to punish Kontxi Bilbao, Gorka Knörr and Juan Maria Atutxa for acting with dignity in the case of the ban against a political party by extreme right members of the PP.

Here you have what Berria tells us about the acquittal:

Atutxa, Knörr and Bilbao acquitted

The judgment published by the High Court of the Basque Autonomous Community states that decisions taken as part of parliamentary work are protected by the right of inviolability enjoyed by members of parliament

Aitziber Laskibar – BILBO (Bilbao)

The High Court of the BAC-Basque Autonomous Community has found Juan Maria Atutxa, Gorka Knörr and Kontxi Bilbao not guilty on the grounds of the inviolability of members of parliament. The Manos Limpias association had accused the three of contempt of court for failing to abide by a ruling handed down by the Spanish Supreme Court to dissolve the Sozialista Abertzaleak group, and that was why the three had been summonsed to appear in court two weeks ago. The High Court of the BAC has, however, ruled that the right of inviolability of members of parliament protects the former members of the Presiding Committee of the BAC Parliament from their decisions.

“Members of the BAC Parliament shall be immune from the opinions expressed and votes cast in the fulfilment of their duties.” This is stated by the BAC’s Statute of Autonomy and forms the basis of the judgment delivered yesterday. The judgment also refers to an article of the BAC Parliament which has the force of law to support the decision to acquit the three: “Even after Members of the BAC Parliament have left their positions, they shall continue to enjoy inviolability with respect to opinions expressed, votes cast or steps taken in the course of their duties.” These two articles fully protect Atutxa, Knörr and Bilbao in the view of the BAC High Court’s panel of judges. In fact, the acts which have been tried “are not ones which the accused have taken as ordinary citizens but decisions taken in their capacity as members of the BAC Parliament’s presiding committee.”

The judgment also states that the charges brought by the prosecution are in connection with a decision taken and voted on by the defendants in the Parliamentary Presiding Committee; decisions taken in the BAC Parliament in the course of their work as members of the BAC Parliament. The judges point out: “Moreover, only the members who cast a specific vote in the Parliamentary Presiding Committee have been accused.” The 21-page judgment published by the BAC High Court yesterday also states that the decision taken by Atutxa, Knörr and Bilbao was taken in defence of the autonomy enjoyed by the BAC Parliament.

Seems like the people at wrongly called Manos Limpias are unaware that supporting antidemocratic measures can splatter your hands with the blood of all those murdered by a regime like the one that ruled Madrid from 1939 to 1975, a regime that was in fact perpetuated by Aznar and his cronies when they decided to start banning political formations on top of shutting down schools, radio stations, human right organizations and newspapers.

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